RWBY in the ring
by Shadowsouls0
Summary: In the ring, it's two opponents locked in combat, an elegant dance of wits and power between two predators. "Oooowww..." uuunless you're Ruby Rose. Follow this tale of Ruby, a newbie on the circuit of bare-knuckle street brawling, as she makes her way to challenge the champion himself. Brutal brawls Funny moments a few heartfelt scenes. This fic is the (hopefully) good answer.
1. The part where Ruby loses

Chapter one: The first match (sort of spoiler alert but not really, it doesn't end well)

"Welcome to Vale."

I muttered as I stepped off the airship, feeling solid ground beneath me for the first time in what felt like a week. I reached up, adjusting the small beanie I'd stuck over my head to keep my unruly hair in check before I set my hands back down, taking a whiff of the air. " _Blegh, smells like fish._ " I thought. Granted, I _had_ landed near the docks. Made sense I suppose. I felt something fly from my neck as I looked over, my eyes widening as I saw the red fabric fly away from me. "Hey!" I exclaimed, muttering quiet apologies as I dashed through the crowd, reaching for my scarf. I started sprinting once I was free of the crowd, the wind carrying the scarf along it's currents, towards the inner city. I felt my legs pounding along the sidewalk as I lept, feeling two sensations at once. Relief, and pain. Relief because I caught my scarf, the red fabric grasped tight in my fist.

And pain on account of the sidewalk against my face.

"Ow…" I muttered, pushing against the ground with one hand as I reached back, wrapping the scarf tighter against my neck this time, hoping it wouldn't fall. As an afterthought, I slipped the tail end of my scarf beneath the right shoulder of my jacket, pulling the denim sleeve up slightly as it rustled against the gray sweater beneath. Being a hand-be-down, it didn't _quite_ fit right. Most notably it was a fair bit larger in the chest region. I reached down, grabbing the flapping edges of the jacket as the wind picked up, quickly buttoning it together as quickly as I could. I walked into a nearby alley for a few seconds, smoothing out the jacket against me as best I could… which still didn't look all that great in the first place. I mean, it was still too big for me, reaching down past my rear. It was too long to be a jacket but too short to be a trench coat. It was a.. Jarench coat! "... _Nah, that sounds stupid._ " I thought as I stepped out of the alley, looking out at the Vale city skyline.

Towering structures of concrete and glass loomed ominously above, the familiar logo of the Schnee Dust Company spanning many of their sides and banners. The few that didn't have that logo were noticeably smaller, and didn't have a thousand window-washers along the sides in precarious scaffolding. Other than that, the skyline wasn't all that different from home, other than maybe home had less skyscrapers and more small houses. Patch wasn't all that big in the first place. I felt myself drug out of the depths of thought when someone bumped into me, knocking me forwards to the ground. "Hey! I'm walkin' here!" I heard a voice say behind me. I scrambled up, looking over towards the source of the voice. It was a man, maybe a few years older than me by the look of it. He had gray hair, dark eyes and a strange sense of mystery about him. He was dressed in a long, gray trench coat and black boots, his eyes glaring at me angrily. "Sorry friend." "Friend? Who the hell are you calling friend?! Get out of the way!" he said, shoving me aside as I managed to catch myself, keeping me from falling right in front of a passing cab.

"Someone's grumpy…" I muttered, glaring at the back of his head for a second as I stepped onto the sidewalk, heading towards the center of the city. I reached into my pocket, pulling out my scroll and dialing the familiar number. I held it up to my ear, hoping that they would pick up. It rang a few times, and I contemplated calling another number before they answered. Thankfully. "Hello? Who is this?" I heard the familiar voice on the other end say. I couldn't help the smile that bubbled to the surface of my face as I spoke, "Hey… it's me." "Ruby?! I thought you were in Patch with Tai and Yang?" "I was, I… well it's… sorta like-a… I'll explain later. Do you still live in the same place as last time I was here?" I asked, frowning towards the scroll in my hand as I hoped he said yes. If he didn't… well, I had some travelling to do. "Yeah. I'll be there. You owe me an explanation." the voice said, right before the line went dead. I ended the call before I looked down, letting out a small sigh before I pocketed the scroll, setting off towards the familiar apartment.

"You are _not_ gonna like it."

…

"YOU WHAT?!"

I shrunk in on myself as I looked up at the intimidating figure. He stood taller than me, though that came well enough with age I guess, red eyes boring into me as he seemed to sober up from the drunken state I'd found him in, like normal. I felt seeds of guilt first appearing in my mind, along with a flicker of hesitation. There was something about my uncle Qrow. For some reason he could make me doubt something that even Yang couldn't, not sure _how_ , but he just could. "I… I ran away." I muttered, pressing my index fingers together as I scrunched my knees tighter to my body, feeling heat rising to my cheeks as I first started to question what I was doing. When I looked up, Qrow had sat back, running a hand over his face as I could see him, for the first time, fighting against the effects of the alcohol in his bloodstream. His eyes flashed with nostalgia before he sighed, slogging back another brew from his trusty flask as he spoke again, "You're your mother's daughter alright. But since you're Tai's kid too, I'm guessing you've got a reason… you do have a reason, right?" he asked, leaning in and raising an eyebrow.

I nodded, "I need to help Yang." I said resolutely, just saying the reason giving me a sense of confidence, enough that I could look at him with my most determined gaze… which was probably snuffed out by the fact I was curled into a ball on a dirty couch with a scarf nearly covering my mouth and a beanie nearly covering my eyes. Qrow didn't look as impressed, giving me a blank stare for a few seconds before he stood, towering over me before he slowly walked over. He moved _way_ too fluidly for a drunk person, slinking down into the nearby chair with the grace of a viper. "Why?" "Umm… because, she's my _sister_. And I… love her and… umm." I looked down again, feeling as if all of my reasons, which sounded perfectly fine in my head, were suddenly completely useless and void. Qrow shook his head, and when my head moved to meet his gaze, it felt as if his eyes were magnets, drawing me to look at him. "Why here? Ruby. Why Vale?" "..."

I didn't have an answer for him, none that would make sense to him anyway. Yang was my sister, I just… I just _knew_ in my heart that she'd want me to be here, doing what I'd planned on. Qrow wouldn't understand, he'd be just like dad about the whole thing. "There are two ways to make money in Vale at your age kiddo. One," he moved his flask over to the left, spilling a bit of liquor on the table… which was covered in liquor anyway so, hey, no big loss. "You find some place that's willing to hire someone in a less than legal manner. Or two," he sloshed his liquor onto the couch, almost onto my shoulder. "Is you go to the nearest brothel and-" "Okay! Okay. I get it." I said, placing a hand over his mouth for a second. He moved it easily, keeping my wrist wrapped in his hand rather easily as he set his flask down, something he didn't do often. "Why Vale?" "I… I have to… Yang. She… she wants me to come here." I said. Qrow, predictably raised an eyebrow at this, his eyes confused.

"Ruby… your sister's been in a medically induced coma for the past six months. How could she _possibly_ have told you that?" "I… you wouldn't get it. I… I _feel_ it uncle Qrow. I can _feel_ it. She wants me here… and she wants me to finish what she started." I said, glaring up towards him. Qrow's eyes widened slightly as he leaned back, letting go of my hand as I stood, standing maybe a head over my uncle while he was standing. We stared at each other for awhile… until Qrow slowly nodded a few times, looking down at the ground. "When did you find out?" "When I asked her." I said, looking down at him as I tried to look more like him. Colder eyes, deader stare, less emotion… it wasn't really working for me. Qrow just nodded, letting out a little chuckle as he stood, leaning back as I heard the slight cracking of his spine. "We never could tell our little Ruby no huh?" "Qrooow! I'm not little! I'm fifteen!" I said, pouting towards him and… likely not helping my case in the slightest.

He reached over, obscuring my vision by pulling my beanie down over my eyes, "Sure you are. Now… why are you here?" he asked. I pulled my beanie up, finding that he'd put the flask away in his jacket somewhere, likely right over his stained undershirt in one of his inner jacket pockets. The only thing that really confused me about his attire were the black shorts. I mean, it was almost _winter_. "I want you to take me." "Oh no. Not a chance kiddo." he said, turning around and holding up his hands. I dashed around him, placing my hands on his shoulders and jumping up. "Please? Please? Please?" I asked, jumping up to his face every time I said the word. He wrapped his arms around my hips the fourth time I jumped, stopping me in the air as I felt his chin on my shoulder, pulling me back and carrying me over to the nearby kitchen. "You must have some Branwen blood in you, stubborn as me and Raven put together." he absently muttered, setting me down on the kitchen counter as he reached over, grabbing a pair of pants he'd seemingly thrown on the back of a nearby chair. "Will you take me? Please?" I asked, sparkling eyes looking at him. He sighed,

"Fine kid, I'll take you to Roman."

…

"Whose kid?"

I looked up towards the taller man smoking a cigar as my uncle stood tall next to him, drinking from his flask. "Not mine if that's what you're asking." Qrow said. The two men shared a brief laugh, going back to their vices of choice for a moment. Smoke and liquor. There was a sort of air of easiness around them. I'd never even _seen_ my uncle so relaxed. The two men couldn't look anymore different… but somehow, they were _so_ alike. The smoking man was dressed in a long, white trench coat, splitting down along the back and turning suddenly into coat-tails. Beneath it he seemed to have on black dress pants and a plain white shirt. His left eye was bright green, with a fair bit of eye shadow on it and likely fake lashes, with his right being completely covered by a shaft of orange hair. In his right hand he was holding his cigar, some expensive brand I'd never heard of. In his other, he was leaning slightly on a cane, more for decoration than function though. It was too short to really be a walking cane… except maybe on me that is.

My uncle Qrow was… my uncle Qrow. He was messy, drunk, and frankly he didn't care. I mean he wore jeans with holes and socks with sandals. _Socks, with sandals._ Yet… there was something in their eyes, a similar sort of look to them, that made the two impossibly alike. Each of them seemed to understand something that I just couldn't wrap my head around. Maybe it came with being old? Or maybe… something else. "Hey, red? Is she brain dead?" the man asked, looking over at my uncle as he waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked a few times before my face flushed, realizing that I'd been staring off into space while the two men had been talking. "Yeah, dropped on her head when she was -OOF! Okay okay, no, she's normal… mostly." he said, the OOF! Coming from where I jabbed my elbow into his stomach, a look of rage still on my face from that… and the 'mostly' comment about my normality… not that he was _wrong_ but, still.

The man looked between us before a small smile curled on his lips, his lips wrapping around his cigar as he took a puff, leaning down so we were the same height. He blew out the smoke at me as I backed up, waving a hand in front of me as I coughed. "So little Red, _you're_ the reason the old Qrow finally came back to roost." he said, smiling at me as he looked up at Qrow. I did too, finding that he was glaring at the sharp dressed man, reaching into his jacket to likely pull out something _far_ sharper than what the man was wearing. "Uh… yeah." I said, feeling somewhat intimidated by the man's elaborate way of speaking, as well as his rather large exterior. "Cut the crap Roman. You know why she's here. Where's the champ?" "Oh for the love of-" the man, Roman apparently, started muttering after that, standing up straight before he turned around, slowly shaking his head as I saw his cane shaking slightly as it hit the ground, uneven notes striking against a concrete piano as he moved towards the back of the room. We were in a large, warehouse looking place, though, only the entrance. He opened a door behind him, and I soon discovered why Yang hadn't wanted to tell me _everything_ about her time in Vale with Qrow.

The room was _massive_ , with a large, open ceiling, and giant spotlights hanging from steel girders suspended by thin wires from the roof. All of them were on, pointing at different places. Some were pointing at what seemed to be stands, set out in all directions from a large, circular platform. Said platform had a cage fence around it, with a large gate on one side and barbed wire towards the top. In the center of the ring there were two men. One of them was lying on the floor, blood surrounding his face as he slowly moved around, seemingly unconscious. The other man, the one who quickly stomped on the first one's face, looked _very_ different. He didn't look like he had a scratch on him, and he had this strange, sadistic smirk on his face. He was shirtless, as the other man was, clad in a pair of red boxer shorts, exposing a rippled physique with multiple scars adorning his chest. Above that he had three notable features. One of them being his bright red hair, vibrant enough I could probably see it with the lights turned _off_. The second was the horns, dark red horns that stood out against the bright hair. A faunus. Finally, there was the mask. It was white with four, bright red slits made to resemble eyes. When he turned around, holding up his hands to the non-existent crowd, I noticed that had had a large tattoo of what looked to be a rose on his back.

"One second red; And Adam Taurus wins again! Another flawless victory!" Roman said, reaching over and shouting into a microphone. He pressed a button, and suddenly a roar of applause so deafening I covered my ears came from above us, apparently some sort of sound system. When it stopped, the man with his arms out, Adam apparently, looked up at me, frowning slightly. Though, and I _hoped_ this was the case… maybe he was just looking at Roman? Said announcer, apparently, walked towards the cage, me and Qrow following behind as Adam walked out of the ring, walking towards us with long, powerful strides. Every muscle in his body could be seen, for the most part, each one flexing and moving in time with perfect synergy. He stopped next to Roman, slowly turning towards me. "Who the hell are you?" "You're the one who beat Yang…" I said, glaring towards him as strong as I was able. I knew I didn't look intimidating with the beanie, jacket, scarf and skinny jeans, but hey, at least I was _trying_. He looked away from me, up towards the ceiling lights. I had no doubt his brow was scrunching up beneath his mask. "Yang… Yaaang… oh yeah, her… why?" he asked.

"You put my sister in a coma…" "So? What's about it?" he asked, likely glaring at me behind his mask. I gritted my teeth as I tried to control my anger… it wasn't working very well. "You hurt Yang… you have to pay." "You challenging me kid?" he asked. His voice was calm, and the challenge was quiet… but it was there. Oh, it was there. I nodded wordlessly, keeping my glare on full blast as Qrow and Roman looked at me like I was crazy. "Red I don't know you but there's not a _chance_ you can beat-" "Quiet. Let _her_ decide. So… think you can beat me in the ring? One on one, right now?" he asked, looking at me with that unchanging mask and a small frown on his face. He was set in stone, he would fight me if I asked. I thought of Yang, how hurt he made her… how much it hurt me and dad… and I nodded again. He got a small smile on his face before he turned around, "Then come on. Let's go." he said, sliding his body back into position, his right leg in front, weight on his back, his right arm above his left and his body closed in, ready to block.

I stormed in, blinded enough by anger that I ignored Qrow's warnings, jumping into the ring and closing the gate behind me. I crouched lower, holding out my arms, evenly, and gritted my teeth. "Ready little girl?" "I am, are you?" I asked, looking towards him as I felt sweat already gathering from the bright lights. Adam smirked, nodding towards Roman. I looked over, Roman… looked hesitant. Though, he nodded anyway, reaching for the nearby mike. "LLLLLLLadies and gentlemen! LLLLLLLLet's get ready to rumblllllllllle!" Roman yelled in a typical announcer voice. A second later I heard a bell ding, and Adam charged like a raging bull… appropriate since he was a bull faunus. He seemed to teleport, one second across the ring, the next in front of me, his fist aiming right at my face. I blocked it, feeling a shockwave of force go through me as I took a step back, feeling the gate against my back. Did I go that far? I tried to punch, but met only air as Adam ducked.

I felt wind in my stomach, joined soon after by a white hot fire as Adam jabbed his hand into my stomach, lifting me up a good foot in the air for a second. I fell back, shaking my head as I felt my vision blurring. Not good. I barely saw it coming when he charged again, a force hitting my front before I heard a loud clang, the feeling of patterned pressure against my back all too real. I fell, hitting the ground with a thud as I looked up, seeing the swirling mass of red above me. I looked down, only to see a knee rapidly approaching my face. I fell to the ground, grasping at my nose as I felt warm, hot blood flowing down, covering my hand from the blow. I could barely see, I could barely breathe, it was a miracle I was still conscious. I felt something tight around my neck as I looked up, seeing a mass of red above me. I moved my hands up, grasping at the choking sense around my neck, my airway cut off. "OOF!" I exclaimed, feeling the air knocked out of me by another hard punch to the gut. I felt my hands fall to the ground as black spots swam across my eyes. It was so hard to see. So hard to breathe.

I felt the pressure disappear as I fell, taking a few ragged breaths as I looked up, jerking my head up towards my opponent. I saw him lean in, right next to me, to the point that even in my blurred state I could see the smirk on his face. "Guess weakness runs in the family." he said, and if the burning in my abdomen was anything to go by, he'd kicked me in the stomach. I felt tears coming from my eyes, but I couldn't stop them. Even if I wanted too. I felt strangled cries leaving my throat as two hands took fistfuls of my sweater in them, lifting me off the ground. I felt three hard blows to the stomach before I looked down, seeing that knee coming at me again. Suddenly I was floating… and then the clang. I hit the ground, blood was everywhere, tears turning my vision into a paint job of blurry reds and whites, dark spots everywhere like a plague. I saw two pressures coming from my sides, and it was all I could do to raise my hands. "GAH!" I yelled, feeling my own hands slammed against my ears, the sound of cracking ringing in my head. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear, I could barely feel anything either. I felt a gentle push on my right side, but it may as well have been a car that hit me, the way I tumbled to the ground. The last thing I saw was that same knee, heading right towards my head. I just shut my eyes and waited.

…

"You're a long way from home aren't you?"

I slowly opened my eyes, coughing as I did so. Everything hurt. My back was aching, my face felt like I'd fallen from a ten story building, and my head was ringing like every bell in the city was going off inside it. I tried to sit up, only for a massive burst of pain to send me right back down. I could barely move, arms, legs, they all felt like lead. Numb. "Ooooww…" "Man… Adam messed you up huh?" I heard that voice say again. It was a kind voice, gentle but… mature. It was kind of nice to listen too… but at the same time, it sounded like someone that had seen some things they wished they could forget. I blinked a few times, my vision clearing up a bit as I finally saw the person that the voice belonged too. I was greeted with a long mane of red hair, brighter than even my scarf, which she was holding in her hand actually. Gentle eyes that twinkled like stars met my own, and a small smile graced the figures face. Something about that smile, it made me want to always see it. It made me feel like I was the number one concern, and that nothing else mattered.

They had a streak of blonde dyed down their hair, for what reason I wasn't really sure, they'd look better without it, and their hair was pulled tight against their scalp, running down their back in a ponytail. Looking down I noticed they were wearing a simple gray tracksuit, bandages wrapped around their hands. Maybe they were a boxer? That or they were recently injured. "Who are… you?" I said, my tongue a useless lump. The person across from me seemed to sense this, handing me a nearby plastic cup, filled with water. I gulped it down, feeling my tongue seem to go back to normal size, though the water did little to soothe the white hot fire in my muscles. I repeated the question, with a fair bit more success this time. They smiled, "I'm Pyrrha. You are?" "Ruby." I said, about to reach out and shake her hand when she stopped me, a gently hand on my shoulder keeping me from doing anything. "Try not to move. You're lucky Adam didn't break anything on you." she said, keeping that slight smile on her face as her eyes slowly moved down my body.

I looked down, seeing that someone, hopefully another girl or my uncle, had stripped me out of my outer clothes, leaving me in my bright red underwear. My body was _covered_ in bruises, parts of it even having bandages over it. "Why'd you do it?" Pyrrha asked, looking at me as the smile ran away from her face, replaced by a frown and a burning curiosity, brighter than her hair. I frowned back at her, "He hurt Yang… I had to try." "Oh… you're Yang's sister. Yeah, he didn't go as easy on her as he did you." she said, giving me an apologetic smile. I felt my eyes widen. It felt like I hurt all over, my nose was in all likelihood broken, and I'd probably not be able to move the same way for another week or so… he went _easy_ on me?! "Don't be surprised, Adam's the best fighter on the circuit. People that aren't even _on_ the circuit don't stand much of a chance." she said, giving me a little smirk as I glared back at her. Granted, being bedridden and in my underwear kind of destroyed the effect. "And you are?" "I was. I was the best fighter on the circuit for four years… until Adam came along that is. He hurt Jau- uh, someone important, so I left." she said, looking down with a pained expression.

"I have to beat him… I have to…" "How?" she asked, her eyes not judgmental or thinking that I was joking, but having a serious curiosity to them. She wasn't judging me but, she looked like she was _ready_ to judge me depending on my answer. I frowned, how _was_ I going to beat him? She was the best on the circuit and he even beat her… wait, that's it! "Teach me." "Pardon?" she asked, cleaning out her right ear and looking at me in disbelief. I just repeated what I'd said before. She slowly shook her head, frowning down away from me as she spoke, "I'm just a washed up old cage fighter, I couldn't even beat him. Why do you think anything I'll teach you could make a difference?" "Please… I need your help. I need to help Yang… beating Adam can help me do that. Please, you're the only one that can help me… Please…" I said, frowning towards her as I felt tears prickling at the edges of my eyes. If she said no… well, there really _wasn't_ anyone else I could turn to to help me was there. She looked down at the ground, a pained grimace passing by her features before a sad smile replaced it. "You're just like he was…" she muttered as she looked up. It could've been my imagination, but I could've sworn I saw tears at the edges of her eyes, gathering right there in the corners, ready to fall to the ground and betray her sadness.

But she didn't cry, her voice didn't even sound pained. "Whenever you're up and moving around again, whenever you're healed… then we'll talk." she said, standing up and giving me a slight smile. Then she frowned, reaching down as I saw her pick up a strand of my hair, lightly holding it up before the figures of the clump separated, slowly falling back down onto my face. Her face had a strange, nostalgic look to it, to the point she almost looked like she was in a trance. "Uhh… are you just, petting my hair now er…" "OH! I'm sorry!" she said, her face flushing in embarrassment as she smiled, pulling back her hand as she turned to leave, walking back towards the door. "Bye Pyrrha!" I said, smiling up at her. Her face flushed a bit darker as she smiled back, turning around, "She really is like you… Goodbye Ruby!" she said, muttering the first bit to the point I had to strain to hear it. I just leaned back against my pillow, letting my eyes drift around the room as I felt myself drifting into a sort-of-awake-but-not-really-awake-and-can-still-do-stuff kind of state.

Yes, it's a thing.

 **(a/n- I'm really not sure** _ **where**_ **this idea came from, but I'm already getting ideas in my head about where to go with it. For some reason I can see, if they weren't on opposite sides, Roman and Qrow being decent friends, or at least acquaintances. Then again, I guess that could work for anyone really, given the proper circumstances. Like Glynda and Cinder, May and Reese, maybe even Velvet and Cardin… okay that one might be pushing it. Also, first match… actually first** _ **beatdown**_ **would be more accurate, is over. Ruby's met Pyrrha, Yang's in a coma (yeah don't expect her anytime soon), and Qrow's drunk and awesome as always. Also, I can't be the only one that could see Ruby running away if she thought she was doing the right thing (which is kind of what she did in Volume 4 actually). Helping Tai pay her sister's medical bills and getting her sister's revenge for her… yeah, I think that counts.)**


	2. The first Weiss chapter

Chapter two: Who's the loneliest of all?

"RAH!"

"Your form's almost perfect. You need to rotate your shoulder slightly." I heard my trainer say. I looked over, nodding towards him as I stepped back, sliding my shoulder into place and, clearly rotating it, before punching the bag again, seeing it slowly swing back, as if insulting how weak I was. I looked over, seeing him slowly nodding. "You seem to be in perfect physical condition. What exactly caused you to come down here? It's not like you to just show up out of nowhere." he asked, raising an eyebrow at me as he walked over, sitting down on a nearby exercise ball. I just shook my head, pulling my hair back behind me before I wiped the sweat from my brow, peeling off the pale bandages from my hands.

"I… needed a distraction. I think." I said, looking down at my hand, stopping myself from peeling the bandages off my left hand, squeezing my fist tighter as I felt that fire in my stomach burning again. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I looked up, seeing the trainer, who was almost a foot taller than me, smile. "Well, if you're going to stay here and punch the crap out of bags all day," he said, gesturing towards the punching bag across from me, "don't take off the bandages, alright? Don't wanna bust a knuckle again." he said, reaching down and lightly patting my hand before he turned away, walking towards the exit as I saw him toss something behind him. I stepped forward and caught them, looking down to find that they were keys. "Lock up when you're done Icy." He said with that familiar smirk of his.

"Don't call me that." I said, glaring towards the man as he held up his hands, shutting the door behind him, leaving me in the empty gym. I turned back towards the punching bag, getting back into a combat stance. I felt the power focused in my hand, hitting it with my left hook once, twice, three times over. I saw the bag flying backwards as I punched again. " _Please! No more!_ " I jumped back, taking a few breaths as I looked down, my hand shaking as I saw blood dripping onto the bandages, my knuckles purple. I looked up, and saw a worn spot in the bag, where I'd punched it so many times. I must've zoned out, since when I looked at my scroll, I found that it had been almost an hour. I leaned back, falling to the ground as I felt my hand start to shake.

"It's okay… you're strong now… they can't hurt you anymore…" I muttered, unable to stop the sudden image of a girl with long, white hair and bright blue eyes. She had a bruise on her left cheek, and a bloody line over her left eye, forcing it shut. She was crying blood and water alike, her hands over her head as she sobbed. "I'm not that girl… not anymore…" I said as I stood, walking towards the entrance to the gym. I didn't bother getting my bag, my other clothes, I'd be fine to just leave them there. My father owned the gym after all, one of the many companies he'd bought. I tried not to think about him as I walked towards the door… but I couldn't help myself when I saw my reflection.

In that reflection I saw the white haired girl, but older now. Her line was no longer bloody, and she had no bruising on her face. Her hands now had bandages, and no longer did she cower. Now she stood strong, ready to fight. Instead of the dress, she wore a black sports bra and a pair of shorts, exposing her long legs and toned abs. I saw, over that girls shoulder, a shadow. It wasn't really there, it couldn't have been, but somehow I saw it. I saw the shadow of the white haired man, the snake that had given her her name. Had given her everything. "No… I'm not like you…" I muttered, pushing past the glass doors before I turned, locking them behind me. I felt the cold chilling my exposed flesh as I set the keys in my pocket, walking down the sidewalk. I didn't know where I was going, I didn't care. I didn't even realize I'd started running until I came upon a stoplight.

When the light turned it felt like I was on autopilot, walking down the sidewalk, ignoring the all too familiar catcalls and whistles of the nearby men, shoving past countless slow people as I felt my feet carry me down the street. I didn't even think about where I was going. I just knew I had to go somewhere. Somewhere his influence couldn't reach me, somewhere I could be… myself. I felt my knuckles burning as I finally conceded to the feeling and looked down, drawn into reality when I saw the droplets of blood hitting against the ground. I looked around, smiling slightly as I saw the familiar sign nearby. That sign being a simple red cross with a heart drawn in the center, strange stitching running along it. Not where I'd _wanted_ to go, but it would do for the moment.

I walked towards the doors beneath the sign, pushing them open as the smell of disinfectant, vomit, and coffee all invaded my nostrils. I couldn't help but smile, it was almost refreshing after the pristine perfection of the gym to smell something so much more… _real_. I saw a woman sitting on the ground a few feet away, looking up at me with a blank stare. "The white wind is melting~ The white wind is melting~" she said in a singsong voice, swaying her head to some unseen melody. I saw the far-away look in her eyes and the ghost of a smile that danced on her face as it blended with the shadows. " _An addict… poor woman…_ " I muttered, feeling a brief spark of pity for her. I heard what sounded like a crash from the back as I looked over, seeing the door slammed open, two bodies flying out, one pinning the other to the wall.

One of them was a man wearing a loose warm jacket, a plaid scarf, a beanie, and what looked to be random clothes he'd found off the streets. He smelled like stale cigarettes and piss, not hard to figure out he was homeless. The other figure was whose hands he'd pinned to the wall, this one a young woman. She was dressed in a white nurse's uniform, one that stretched down almost to her knees. It seemed to be a size too big for her, if all the extra fabric was anything to go by. Her eyes were big, brown, and terrified of the taller man in front of her, her long brown hair draped over her in a weak attempt to stop him, her long, rabbit ears curled up in terror. "Just let it happen baby~" the man said, slurring his words slightly. He was either high or drunk, neither would end well. The woman just shut her eyes as the man leaned in, his mouth closing in on her neck.

I grabbed the man's wrist, causing him to look over at me, his eyes hazy and unfocused, glossed over with the tint only beer could've made. "Whoa, hey there hot mama~" he said, shifting his focus from the faunus nurse to me, taking her hands off of her as he moved one towards my sports bra, the other held in my grip. I didn't even flinch as I grabbed his other hand, pulling him forward as I swung my head around, knocking into his. "FUCK! AH!" He yelled, gripping his forehead. I wasn't done though, I dashed forwards, slamming my elbow into his stomach before I stepped back, hitting him with an uppercut that sent him sprawling to the floor. He didn't try and get back up. He didn't even move.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking towards the young woman across from me. She looked over at me, her face tinged red as she nodded, walking towards the man and lightly tapping the side of his head with her foot. "Uggggh…" the man groaned as his head tilted over to the side. She let out a sigh of relief, though whether it was from being thankful she wasn't raped or that the man wasn't now a corpse thanks to me, I couldn't tell. "Thank you! Thank you!" she said, grabbing my hand in both of hers as she smiled at me, leaning down slightly. I could even see tears starting to gather in her eyes. "Velvet! What's going on out- oh, Ms. Schnee…" I heard a loud voice ask, the familiar head of Dr. Oobleck, the doctor (duh) and part owner of the clinic.

He took one look down at the man, then looked at my fists, no doubt noticing my wounded knuckles, wounds that had scabbed over by now. Though, a different one seemed to have split back open. Must've punched the guy a bit too hard. "Let's get those knuckles looked at. Velvet, sweetie, contact the police and have them take this man into custody… I shouldn't have let him in in the first place…" he said, looking down and, though his glasses were opaque, I had a feeling he looked guilty behind them. Velvet just shook her head, walking over and wrapping her arms around the taller man. "It's okay doctor. We have to try and help everyone, right?" she asked, smiling up at him, tilting her head slightly as she shut her eyes. Oobleck only smiled, reaching up and lightly rubbing her right ear before he turned away. "Quite right, regardless, do tell me if you sense something wrong in the future? I wouldn't want to be responsible for you being hurt. Your mother would never forgive me now would she?" he said, smiling slightly.

Velvet let out a little giggle before she nodded, walking away towards another room in the back. Meanwhile, Oobleck turned to me, gesturing behind him towards the operating area… at least, that's what Oobleck called it. Really it was just a room that he'd placed a few chairs, a bed, and his tools in. I walked in and sat down on the chair, no point in lying down for this. "She's new." I said simply, not an opinion or a question, just a fact. I'd been to Oobleck's clinic a hundred times for a hundred different reasons in the past. This was the first time I'd seen the young rabbit faunus. Oobleck sighed, "I'm her godfather. Her mother and I were close friends growing up, and she entrusted me with her daughter's safety should she ever go to that giant hospital in the sky… sadly, she did. Ten years ago in fact. I've been raising her since then but I never felt she should be involved in the clinic due to her faunus nature and my clients… ahem, 'close-mindedness', unfortunately. She insisted though, so of course I let her." he explained.

Oobleck sighed as he looked at my knuckles, "Honestly Ms. Schnee, you _must_ take better care of yourself. Have you been boxing without bandages again?" he asked. I didn't answer, my silence would be enough of an answer for the strange doctor. I knew how Oobleck worked well enough by now, my silence to him was just as good if not _better_ than an answer. I looked down, feeling the cold as Oobleck set an ice pack down on the table next to the chair, just laying my hand over it. Then he grabbed another one, setting it on top of my fingers. He did the same thing with my other hand, standing back and sitting down in front of me. "Is there a chance you'll-" "No." I said, knowing what he was going to ask. Was there a chance I'd give it up for a while? A chance I'd take it easy? He already knew my answer. There wasn't one.

Oobleck sighed, "You're going to Roman, aren't you?" I just nodded, looking over behind the doctor to find his goddaughter standing there, just poking her head in and looking at me. When our eyes met she stepped back, only the tips of her ears showing from behind the doorway, both trembling slightly. "Not very good with people I'm guessing." I said quietly, so that only Oobleck would be able to hear me. This was what I normally did anyway, talked with Oobleck while he basically waited for my hands to freeze, hoping that it would stop me from going out and boxing immediately afterwards… it never really worked. "Velvet's rather shy around humans other than me. I'd blame that more on society today than anything else. Though, yes, she isn't much of a 'people person' as is the expression. Though she's just about the best assistant I've ever had." he said, smiling slightly as I saw Velvet looking towards us, her face burning slightly at Oobleck's compliment.

I stood when I felt the cold from the ice packs reach my elbows, indicating they'd been on for _far_ too long in my opinion. Oobleck knew that, he was getting more and more bold in his attempts to get me to rest. It was a losing fight, he knew he couldn't outlast me in a battle of wills. I had all the time in the world. "Be careful, won't you Weiss?" Oobleck asked, showing me just how serious he was getting about this by using my first name. I just nodded, walking away from him. "Sure." I muttered, soon after I was out of earshot. I saw that the man I'd punched wasn't anywhere to be seen, assumingly taken away by the police. I just walked towards the exit, pushing open the door as I felt the cold wind brushing past.

"Wait!" I heard a voice suddenly say as I was walking down the street. I turned around, seeing Velvet dashing from within the clinic around the door, brushing past someone before she walked over to me, taking a few breaths as she looked around, a dark blush settling over her face. "I wanted to thank you… for saving me! For, for saving me." "You already have." I said, keeping my eyes blank as the girl seemed to fumble for her own words, sputtering for a second as she looked down, gripping at the sides of her head. I couldn't help but smile at her, it was honestly rather entertaining to watch. "I mean… something more, um… meaningful! Yeah, that's it! Umm, would you… would you… like to go… umm… to the, uh, th-the park l-later? M-maybe for-" "Okay." I interrupted her, figuring I had to get going before dark, and I didn't have time for the shy girl to form out a coherent sentence. She straightened up suddenly, her ears going rigid as she just nodded, giving me a small smile before she walked away, dashing back towards her clinic, bumping into a few people. I kept that smile as I turned away, walking towards my original destination.

…

"Here for a fight snow angel?"

I looked over, glaring towards the orange haired showman as he let out a puff of smoke towards me, standing in front of the door we both knew led to his arena. I just nodded, walking past him and pushing open the door. I saw that the arena was being cleaned up, a fair bit of blood covering the floor. I walked towards it, only to stop when I felt something against my foot. I looked down, raising an eyebrow as I bent over, picking up what looked to be a long, red scarf. I held it out, looking all over it but finding no name whatsoever, rather just a strange looking symbol, a rose made out of white thread. "Who lost to Adam?" "Yang's little sister. Girl showed up and got her ass handed to her in less than a minute." Roman said. The way he looked at the scarf in my hands, it was rather clear who it belonged too.

I just walked down, I wasn't here because I wanted to meet someone stupid enough to challenge Adam while wearing a scarf or, really, anything other than a bra and shorts. Adam was notorious for grabbing onto clothing and using them to strangle anyone he got in the ring with. He managed to beat Yang by using her _hair_ against her for crying out loud! Instead, I just walked past the arena, heading towards the familiar doors in the back. "Hey, would you be opposed to handing that scarf off to it's owner? She's in the infirmary." Roman said.

I looked over, clutching the red scarf in my hands before I nodded, turning around and continuing on towards the back. I walked past a few people, mostly cleaning staff but, a few that were actually dressed in fighting clothes. I walked past them all until I reached the door with the red cross haphazardly painted on. I pushed open the door, the scent of disinfectant and blood hitting me head on. Such an odd combination… but for this place, it was oddly soothing. Meant I was getting away from my perfect life and into an _actual_ life.

I walked past a few rows of empty beds before I saw someone walking towards me. The bright red hair with the blonde streak, the hard green eyes, softening slightly when they saw me, and the bandages on her hands gave it away. "Weiss." "Pyrrha." I said, no emotion behind it as I walked towards her, following where her gaze had gone a moment ago. Lying on a bed next to us there was a girl, black hair with bloody tips that stretched down around her chin, bruises covering her body and her face, bandages over her nose, more than likely broken by Adam. She was clad in only her red underwear, likely so that the doctor could treat her more easily. Hard to treat someone when they're fully clothed. I looked down at the scarf, then at the girl. The red in her hair was the exact shade of the scarf.

I reached down, placing my hand on the girl's neck. I felt a pulse, a weak one at that. Adam had taken her to the brink, like everyone else he ever fought. If she was lucky she'd be up and walking… eventually. "Adam's opponent?" "More like his punching bag. Right here," she pointed to the sleeping girl's heavily bandaged nose, "she was hit with Adams knee, multiple times based on the damage. Here," she pointed at the girl's stomach, "Adam must've jabbed her, maybe a few hard punches too based on the intensiveness of the bruising. Here's the worst bit though," she pointed towards the girl's neck, revealing a ring of purple. Before she spoke again Pyrrha reached over, grabbing some kind of cream, my blood _boiling_ when I saw the Schnee Company logo on it, and applying it to the girls bruised areas, heavily on her neck and stomach. "Adam must've choked her out, it's too thin to be with his arm though… wonder what he used?"

"This." I said, holding out the girls scarf. Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, looking between the girl and the scarf as her eyes widened slightly in realization, no doubt coming to the same conclusion I had moments ago. "She's not a fighter." I said, reaching down and pulling up one of her hands. I flipped it over, Pyrrha looking with me as I ran my fingers along her knuckles. Smooth, no bruising or damages whatsoever. As soft as knuckles could be. I flipped her hand over again, running my finger along her palm, only for her hand to move back slightly, the twinge of a smile showing on the girl's face. "Poor thing… going against Adam when she's probably never fought in her life…" Pyrrha said, a look of pity flashing across her face as I dropped the girl's hand, laying it against her thigh. One of the few places that _wasn't_ covered in bruises.

"Stupid thing more like it." "Weiss! How can you be so -so, so _heartless_!" Pyrrha said, glaring at me in both anger and indignation. I couldn't help but give her a sad smile as I held up my hands, tossing her the scarf. "She chose to fight Adam. If she wanted to be safe she shouldn't have challenged him." I said, brushing past Pyrrha as she grabbed the girl's scarf, taking more of the ointment and applying it to the girl's bruising. She glared back at me, "Next time you get hurt, don't complain if I hurt you a little more to make it better." she said, turning away as her look of anger was replaced once again by a strange, motherly compassion Pyrrha showed with most people… even Adam when she (rarely) treated him.

I just turned away, walking out the nearby door and to the left, seeing the familiar door in front of me. I just smiled, pushing open the metal door with the pale snowflake painted on. "Home sweet home." I muttered sarcastically as I walked past the small bench and the locker where I kept some of my clothes. Instead I walked straight towards the twin bed that I'd bet Roman for. I'd bet I'd win a few matches, and being a gambling man he accepted. Didn't count on me actually _winning_. That or, maybe he did. Maybe he just wanted to keep this little arrangement between us going as long as he could. Hard to tell with him. I stretched out my back, smiling as I felt the somewhat scratchy blanket beneath me. I shut my eyes leaning my head back against the pillow. If I wanted comfort, I'd have gotten something like mine at home, the Vacuo cotton and imported pillows… but I didn't want that.

Mostly because it's what my father would get.

"Never did understand why you come here." I heard a familiar, somewhat annoying voice say. I opened my eyes, looking around and frowning at the door as I saw Adam standing there, leaning back against the doorframe, arms crossed and his foot against the door in his typical stance. His body shone with sweat, most likely from a recent workout, and he was clad in his normal boxing clothes and mask, along with some bandages on his hands, like mine. "You've got everything a girl could ask for. Money, power, anything you could want. Why come here and lay down in that ratty old mattress when you could be at home? Pampered like a queen?" he asked, and I could tell that behind that mask his eyes showed genuine interest. I looked away from him, towards the gray ceiling as I spoke.

"None of it's mine. This. _This_ is something I can say I earned." I said, and it was true too. I'd fought tooth and nail (literally) to get everything in this room put here, rather than just using my father's money to get it. I won fights, I got things. "Yet you let Roman keep almost 90% of your winnings." "I don't care about money. I've got plenty. If I ask Roman for something, he'll get it for me, because I _earned_ the money he uses to buy it. I ask my father, he'll _give_ it to me." I said as I rolled over, laying my head sideways on the pillow, facing away from Adam as I pulled the blanket over me. I wasn't all that tired, but I figured he'd think I was and he'd leave. I even let out a fake yawn and spoke in a more tired voice, "All I have to do is sit still, look pretty, and do everything I'm told. Only sit up straight, never talk good about the lower class, be 'daddy's little angel'. Home, I have luxury. Here, I have _freedom_." I said.

I felt a presence above me as I looked up, seeing Adam standing over me. He just smiled, "I'll give you credit Schnee. You've got guts. A bit too much really, you're getting a bit fat." he said, dashing out the room as I sat upright, throwing my pillow at him. Only, by the time the pillow reached him, he'd shut the door behind him, no doubt having run down the hall by now. I sighed as I stood, grabbing my pillow and tossing it back on the bed, stopping as I passed the mirror. I lightly pat my stomach, frowning slightly, " _Well… he's not WRONG. I have been eating more than usual lately… haven't been getting out as much as I should be._ " I thought as I reached down, pressing a bit of my fat up, letting it fall back as I held up my arm. Not a spot of fat on it. " _I'll have to work more on my core next week._ " I thought as I laid back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, letting my thoughts carry me away.

…

"Wakey wakey Weiss~"

I swatted away the hand poking my cheek, slowly opening my eyes as I saw the familiar over-makeup coated eye of Roman Torchwick staring down at me. I must've dozed off. "You asked for a fight, so I put you against one of our more seasoned brawlers. I think you can handle him just fine though snowflake~" he said, poking my cheek again. I sat up, glaring towards Roman as he backed away, _fully_ aware of what I could do to him if he kept annoying me. Even the runner of the ring wasn't stupid enough to get on a cage-fighters bad side. "Who?" "Blue-haired guy, real flirty around women. Only one I know who's a bigger ass than Adam." Roman said, chuckling lightly as he turned around, walking out towards the door and shutting it behind him. I stood, brushing my hair back as I looked at the nearby clock. I must've dozed off, I'd been asleep for almost two hours.

I stood, opening the door and walking down the hallway towards the ring as I heard the chatter from outside. Roman had a packed stadium huh? "LLLLLLAADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Please welcome our FIGHTEEEEEEEERS!" Roman yelled, the room suddenly erupting into applause as I walked towards it, stopping right when I saw the other side. I was hidden from view by the shadows, but I could see the people standing and sitting alike, all of them applauding. "IN THE RED CORNER! THE LADY KILLER EXTRAORDINAIRE! THE BLUE HAIRED BRAWLER! NEPTUUUUUUNE THE NIMBLEEEEE!" Roman yelled as a man dashed forwards, jumping into the ring. He stood up, flipping his hair back and winking towards some people in the audience. I instantly saw about five women faint, thinking he was looking at them.

Then he held up his hands, smiling at everyone as Roman spoke again. "AAAAND IN THE BLUE CORNER! THE COLDEST WOMAN IN ALL OF VALE! THE ICY BEAUTY! THE QUEEEEEEN OF MEAN! WEISS THE WICKEEEEEED!" Roman yelled. I took that as my cue, running out and vaulting over the railing, landing crouched on my side. I popped up, holding up my hands before I brushed my hair out of my face. Neptune smirked at me, giving me a look I had no doubt would send _plenty_ of women into a blushing mess. Me though? I was there to _fight_ , not flirt. "Alright sweetheart, what say we head out after this? Help you feel better about losing?" "Not on your life, and I'm _not_ losing." I said, glaring towards him as he stepped back, his expression hardening. He knew the rules of Roman's ring just like I did. Anything went, just no weapons or hitting below the belt. I stood there, him bouncing around as I just watched, waiting for Roman to give his signature call. "LOWER THE CAGE!" he yelled as the familiar cage slowly dropped into place. I still waited, waiting for Roman's tagline.

"LADIEEEEEEES AND GENTLEMEN! LLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLE!"

At that I dashed forwards, ducking low as I saw Neptune's eyes flash with fear. I pushed his fist up with mine, jabbing him in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, but I wasn't done. I sweeped his legs out from under him, causing his back to be pressed flat to the mat. I held tight to his hand as I reared back my leg, forcing his jaw up with my knee as I felt his own grip on my hand loosen. "Get up… you hear me?! Get up! I'm not done with you!" I said, smirking slightly as I felt my blood start pumping. I let go, watching as he crawled along the ground, turning himself around as he looked up at me. I walked over, smashing my foot down on his stomach as he cried out in pain. The crowd was loving it, cheering, even as some of the women were gasping that their precious Neptune was getting pummeled.

I held out my hand, "Shall I show _mercy_ to the coward?!" I asked, smirking towards the crowd as I held Neptune above my head, slightly struggling to keep him up. I heard a chorus of noises sounding around me, until, at last, I heard a chant rising up, first slow, then louder, until it was even louder than the applause and Neptune's pleas. "WE WANT BLOOD! WE WANT BLOOD!" they yelled. I smirked wider as I crouched, tossing Neptune in the air. They wanted blood?

CRACK!

"AHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

I'd _give_ them blood.

Neptune fell, barely moving as I reached down, hoisting him up by his neck as I kneed him in the stomach, feeling warm liquid on my shoulder as I looked down, scowling as I saw his blood staining my bra. I reared back a fist, a punch to the face set his nose bleeding too. "What happened to being _nimble_ huh?" I asked, dropping him as I drove my foot into his stomach, causing him to cough up more blood, leaning on his side. I held out my hands, smirking to the crowd as I danced around him, hearing the cheering was already making me forget what I was so worried about before. "How should I end it?!" I yelled. Again there was random shouting, before a unanimous chanting came up from the crowd, but this time failing to drown out Neptune's wailing (it _was_ considerably louder at this point). "SKULLSPLITTER! SKULLSPLITTER!" they yelled, causing Neptune to look at me in fear. He opened his mouth to say something, but all he got out was a strangled cry as I lifted him up, spinning him around before I slammed his head into the ground in a suplex.

"AND JUST LIKE THAT, NEPTUNE THE NIMBLE IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT! WEISS THE WICKED WINS AGAIN!" I heard Roman yell as the crowd started cheering, the winches in the ceiling slowly lifting the cage as I saw someone on the sidelines, the only person not cheering for me. All I could see of her was a flash of red hair before they walked away. I felt myself drug back down to earth, and I looked down towards Neptune. I only smiled, leaning down and pressing my lips against his cheek. "Wanna go out? Make you feel better about losing?" I said mockingly as he muttered some incoherent words. Maybe I _had_ gone a bit overboard. Still… the crowd seemed to like it. Once the cage was up I jumped out, walking into the back as I saw none other than Pyrrha standing there, glaring towards me. "What?" I asked, shrugging towards her.

SMACK!

I blinked a few times, holding my hand up and tapping on my cheek, making sure I hadn't just imagined that. I flinched back, nope, it stung. "Did you just… slap me? Pyrrha?" I asked, looking over at her. Her hand was outstretched to the left, her eyes burning as she panted, still glaring at me. Then she sighed, dropping her hand before she started walking away, "Why are you mad at me all the time?" I asked, glaring as she suddenly stopped, spinning around. Every time I showed up, all it was was 'why are you so heartless' or 'be more friendly' or even once 'stop hurting people'. We were _boxers_! That was _literally_ our job description! Pyrrha walked over to me, stopping when she was just a foot away. "You want to know _why_ I'm mad at you so much Weiss? Look at yourself in the mirror, then go look at Adam. Tell me what he has that makes me _tolerate_ him, that you don't." then her eyes softened slightly.

"Look, Weiss… I… I…." "If you hate me, say it." I said coldly, not bothering to give her any emotional response. She flinched back, her eyes widening slightly before she settled back into that glare. "I… I hate you!" "Thanks." I said, brushing past her with a small smile on my face, walking towards my room. She walked past me, stopping in front of me, looking at me with that bewildered expression of hers. "You're… thanking me?" "Yep."

"Why?"

"You've done something for me that no one else has ever done." I said, brushing past her again, stopping at the door to my room. I looked at my hand, smiling as I saw the slightly bloody bandages wrapped around my hands. I undid them, letting them fall to the ground as I reached back, undoing my ponytail and letting my hair fall loosely around me. I looked over my shoulder, giving the old boxer a smile as I opened the door, walking inside. "You told me that you don't like me. That you _hate_ me even." I said, about to shut the door behind me.

"And it's because you know _me_ … and not my name."


	3. Training montage

Chapter three: Organized crime and less organized training

"I believe in Vale. It's what made my fortune after all."

I heard the man say as I looked up, the pale hair and skin gave away who it was rather easily. Even if the bright blue eyes didn't. The way he spoke… irritated me, almost to no end. Still though, I was a business woman first. He paid well, and if I had to listen to him to get my pay… well, it was a small sacrifice. He spoke again, more carefully this time, "I have raised my children in that same fashion, the way Vale children are raised. My eldest, Winter, she leaves home one day as a beautiful girl, then comes back with a broken jaw and a busted up nose. She could barely walk, so I had her taken to the hospital. I found out why, why she was hurt. I found out that she had been attacked, by people of a… less than reputable nature. She was attacked for me, as a message. I went to the police, as a good man should. The men that were charged, they were let go, walking free. One comes up to me in the courtroom, he laughs at me, the two walking away. I knew they bribed the judge. My wife is in tears, and I tell her that if we want justice, we go to Raven Branwen." he said, looking over at me.

I reached over, grabbing my glass of golden liquid, holding up a finger towards the man as I drank it ( **a/n- like mother like daughter I guess.** ) feeling the fire flowing through me. I set it down, looking up at him, "You've known me for years Jacques. We've done plenty of business together. What do you want? These two murd-" "I want to send a message." he interrupted, glaring towards me as I slowly nodded. I reached down, grabbing out a cigarette and flicking it towards him, watching it slowly fly through the air to land on his shoulder. "You seem stressed." I said simply as I grabbed one for myself as well. Jacque nodded, placing it between his lips as I did the same, looking over towards the woman near the back of the room. The tan skinned, black haired woman, her hair in jagged cuts and clinging to her scalp as she produced a lighter, holding it beneath my cigarette first, then Jacques.

She stepped back, her hands in front of her as she spread her legs a bit, standing at the ready. I knew that if Jacque tried anything she'd put him down in a split second. I could see the handle of the gun in her suit jacket, she'd decided to wear her standard suit with a navy blue blazer and a red tie today it seemed. "Thank you Vernal." I said, giving her a slight smile as she nodded, smiling back before she turned ahead again, keeping her gaze on Jacques. Jacques let out a puff of smoke, rolling the cigarette around his lips as I took mine out, letting out a puff as I looked towards him, placing the cigarette in my lips as I placed my hands in steeples. "Why didn't you come to me first?" I asked, my eyes cold and my face blank, the end of the cigarette more bright than my eyes.

Jacques looked away from me, letting a puff out of the corner of his mouth, "I'd wanted to leave you out of this… though, I see that was a mistake. The two men were part of the White Fang you see…" he said, trailing off. I didn't need to hear the rest, we both knew about the White Fang. One of the most notorious families in Vale. Unless, of course, you count the Schnee family, or mine. "Okay… what did you have in mind?" I asked. I had a feeling I knew, but if Jacques wanted something done, he normally wanted to micromanage his own revenge, seemed to be a bit more personal for him. He stood, leaning over and whispering in my ear. I felt the smoke against it more than anything when he sat back. I shook my head, "That I can't do." "I'll pay whatever you ask." he said, his eyes burning with a certain stubbornness I was familiar with. My eyes, my daughter's, my husband's, my brother's, everyone related to me seemed to have it.

I sighed, letting out another puff of my cigarette as I nodded a few times, leaning back in my chair slightly. "Twenty-five Jacques. That's as low as I can make it." "Deal." he said. I held out my hand, him leaning down and kissing it. Then he stood, walking away, snuffing out the cigarette in the ashtray near the door. I kept watching until he shut the door behind him, the resounding footsteps fading down the hall. "Vernal, get two cheap bounty hunters and send them after the goons. Send a hunter after them both when it's done, we can't risk association." I explained as I snuffed out my own cigarette. I pushed back my chair, standing up and smoothing out my dress before I looked at Vernal, her eyes asking that familiar question. "How cheap?" "Five hundred grand to two million range." I explained, walking towards the door. Vernal nodded, walking over and holding the door for me as the two of us walked out. She held out her arm as I complied, looping my own arm through hers as she escorted me back towards my own room.

Three days later, four bodies were found, two faunus and two human, and from the Schnee Company, 25 million lien were transferred to one 'Raven Branwen'.

…

"You're really serious about this huh?"

I nodded as I looked towards the red haired boxer, giving her my most determined glare. I'd come as she requested, wearing my shorts and sports bra. She was wearing one as well, yet unlike me, she wasn't shaking like a leaf in the _freezing_ cold weather. I mean, it wasn't supposed to get up above _forty_ _degrees_ today! **(a/n- that's uh, fahrenheit for anyone that was wondering. Roughly translates to 4.5 degrees celsius if you need a reference)** "Y-Y-Yes I am!" I said, my teeth chattering as I tried my best to keep still, despite the cold wind blowing through me. Pyrrha sighed, nodding a few times as she turned around. She crouched down, motioning for me to do the same. I ignored the pain in my abdomen from two weeks ago as I crouched lower, looking over and seeing Pyrrha by my side. "First, we're going for a little run. Try and keep up." she said, smirking slightly. I smirked right back as I saw her take off, me taking off as well.

Despite her longer legs, I kept up with her just as well, running right next to her as I spoke, "Where are we going?" "The gym down the road!" she yelled over the wind, nodding back to me. I nodded, bursting out ahead of her down the road. I really only asked so I'd know where I was running to. Now I ran unrestrained, the wind rushing against my face, whipping back my hair. I didn't even think about the pain I was in just a few days ago. Now I just ran, bolting towards the gym I knew would be nearby. It was maybe a five minute run, but I skidded to a halt right in front of the gym, turning around… only to see Pyrrha stopped at the first stoplight I'd seen. I felt my face flush as I realized I'd jay-walked past four stoplights, all of which were red as I zipped between the cars. "Oh… hehe… oops…" I muttered. I felt my heart skip a beat as a police officer walked towards one of the stopped cars, the driver pointing in my general direction.

I dashed into the gym, shutting the door behind me as I took a few breaths. I looked around, my face paling as I saw what looked to be twenty men looking over at me, all of them stopping whatever they were doing, be that lifting the weights, running on the treadmills, or discussing with other people. I blinked a few times as my face turned red. "Umm… hi?" I said, feeling my voice crack as I spoke. This awkward stare-down ended whenever Pyrrha walked in, panting slightly. "She's with me." she said, grabbing my upper arm. Everyone turned back to what they were doing, as if my presence was suddenly easily explained away as 'Pyrrha brought her in'. Speaking of Pyrrha, the red headed girl gently guided me towards the back of the gym, where a large, boxing ring of sorts lay unused.

"I'll be damned!" I heard a woman's voice say. I looked over, seeing someone jump over the bars. That someone was a dark skinned woman with platinum blonde hair, excited amber eyes gazing at Pyrrha. She walked over, Pyrrha giving her a smile as the two embraced, the woman patting her on the back. "Pyrrha Nikos! I haven't seen you here in _ages_! What brings you to my gym… today?" she asked, her eyes trailing down until she noticed her grip on my arm. She raised an eyebrow towards me, to which I could only blush and smile back at her. Pyrrha, thankfully, stepped between us, smiling at her. "Good to see you Arslan. I'm training a new fighter. She's Yang's sister." she said, lightly pushing me forward as she placed her hands on my shoulders, showing her much larger height as I felt her chin on top of my head.

Arslan nodded a few times, keeping that same smile as she jumped into the ring. Pyrrha motioned me forward as I jumped up in as well, standing in front of her as Pyrrha joined us, standing next to me. "How many-" "None. One fight against Adam." she said. Arslan's eyes widened as she looked over at me, gazing down at my bruises as I looked away, covering them. It felt embarrassing that she knew these were from my hot-headed attempt at fighting an experienced veteran with _no_ combat experience whatsoever. "Alright… if you've got no experience," Arslan stood strong, smirking at me, "Then hit me." she said, jumping into the ring. I felt Pyrrha lay a hand on my lower back, pushing me up there as I complied, climbing in. She walked over to the side, leaning against one of the corners of the ring and crossing her arms over her chest.

I looked at Arslan, finding her standing upright again, just watching me. She was calm, cool, a small smirk on her face as she held out a hand, flexing her index finger towards me. I took a breath as I moved forward, trying to punch her. She just stepped aside. "Woaoaoah!" I said as I started flailing my arms, my face meeting the mat a moment later. I looked up, seeing her slowly shaking her head as she looked down at me. "We've got _a lot_ of work to do." she muttered, hoisting me off the ground as I stood, shakily regaining my footing. She took a few steps back, lowering herself slightly into a basic combat stance. "Alright, can't hit for crap. Dodge me." "Wait wha- AH!" I yelped, jumping back as I saw her try to punch me. She tried again, but I simply ducked her blow, dodging a few more times as I saw her kicking towards me. I kept backpedaling and bobbing and weaving until, finally, one of her kicks caught the edge of my jaw.

I staggered back, clutching my jaw as I ducked, seeing her leg flying at me. I saw the opportunity and shouldered Arslan in the crotch, causing her to stagger back slightly as I jumped to the other side of the ring. Arslan looked over at me, her smirk growing a bit wider. "Not bad… not a good fighter but a damn good improviser." she said, looking over at Pyrrha. It was kind of hard to tell if she was talking to me, Pyrrha, or herself, so it was hard to tell whether I should be insulted at the comment on my fighting skills, beaming at the compliment on my improve skills (whatever those were) or just stand there looking confused, like an idiot.

Naturally, I did the later.

Pyrrha walked over, nodding towards Arslan as she stepped back, crossing her arms and taking Pyrrha's place. The red-head walked over to me, "Alright, I want you to get in a basic combat stance, show me how you'd get ready to start a fight." she said. I just nodded, leaning down slightly, holding out my arms as I tried to imitate what I'd seen other fighters doing. Pyrrha held a hand over her mouth as Arslan burst out laughing. "What?" "Ruby… That… Stance…" Pyrrha said, sputtering slightly as she tried to keep from laughing. I stood upright, raising an eyebrow at her as I saw her face burning slightly with the effort of not laughing. Arslan didn't care, laughing up a storm, gripping onto the ropes on the edges of the arena for support.

When Pyrrha calmed down a bit she walked over, telling me to resume my position. I complied, feeling her arms trailing on my own. "I'm sorry but, you're so closed up and hunched in… here, spread your legs wider, keep your center of gravity lower. Lower the elbows too while you're at it." she explained, lightly kicking my feet apart as she moved her hands, gentle hands guiding my own arms lower, to the point they were closer to my stomach than my chest. "Hold your hands up, keep your elbows there though." she explained. I did as she said, feeling her kick my left foot forward slightly. I kept still as I felt Pyrrha's hands on my waist, lifting me up slightly. "Straighten out your knees a bit, not all the way, they need to be _slightly_ bent, don't squat." she explained.

After a moment she stepped back, Arslan recovering and looking over at me. She smiled, "Not bad… other than the pudgy hands she looks like a boxer." "Pudgy?" I muttered, frowning as I looked down at my hands. What the heck did she mean by _pudgy_? I mean, my hands weren't exactly large. I couldn't even wrap both hands around most mugs in the first place so… pudgy? That's a new one. "She means your hands aren't hard yet. You haven't got the bruising on your knuckles like a boxer yet." Pyrrha explained, placing her hand over mine, rubbing one of her fingers over my knuckles. She stepped back after a second, getting into her own stance. She was taller than me, so obviously she stood over. The difference was, she wasn't slouched over like I was. I imitated her, getting as straight as I could.

"You catch on fast. Now, I want you to try punching from that pose alright?" she asked, keeping that same, warm smile on her face. I nodded, quickly punching ahead of me. She looked at me for a second before she nodded, "Oooh… you're left handed…" "Yeah… so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. What did me being left handed have to do with anything? She walked over, not saying a word as she moved my left foot back, my right foot going forward now. "You'll want to press off with that right foot, so that your body can turn more naturally. Watch." she explained, getting into the same pose I was before she pressed her foot into the ground, swinging her arm back and punching straight ahead, hitting the air in front of her. She looked at me, her eyes the only explanation I needed. I imitated her, staggering a bit as I felt myself off balance. I heard Pyrrha giggle, "Maybe we should work on your balance first."

"Work on it all you want, won't help." Arslan said, walking over. I felt her roughly grab my wrist, pulling me over as I tumbled to the ground, sprawled out beneath the two women. I held back a yelp as I felt Arslan trail her fingernail up my arm, from my armpit to my wrist. I felt her squeezing slightly around my bicep as she looked at Pyrrha. "Won't matter how well she hits if she can't hurt anyone. Look at these skinny little arms!" she said, pulling me up and flapping my arms slightly. I stopped her after a second… well, tried to anyway. She just kept going, as if not noticing I was resisting. "Hmm… you _do_ have a point… Ruby! Kick Arslan in the stomach! NOW!" Pyrrha yelled. I was so shocked I didn't even think, leaning around and feeling a hard pressure against my foot, a wheezing coming out from the dark-skinned woman above me, her grip on my arm gone.

I saw Pyrrha reach down, patting my leg as she held me closer to her, keeping me from falling. "Seems what she lacks in arms she _more_ than makes up for in her legs. You run track and field, right?" Pyrrha asked, giving me a slight smile. I couldn't help but smile back, despite the fact my leg was still stuck out to the side and the only thing keeping me from falling was Pyrrha's arm beneath my chest. "Yeah, since I was five." I explained. Arslan stood, leaning against the railing as she recovered, chuckling as she walked over. I yelped as I reached up, wrapping my arms around Pyrrha as I felt Arslan sweep my other leg up, gently moving her finger across it. "Strong leg muscles, decent thighs, _someone's_ been taking good care of themselves." she said, smiling over at me. I couldn't help the blush that came to my face.

"Arslan, drop her leg." Pyrrha said flatly, no emotion behind it. I felt my leg fall to my side, Pyrrha holding onto my other leg as my arms wrapped around her back. She looked over at me, looking up before she pulled back, her face tinted red as she shut her eyes. She spoke slow and methodical, a measured tone to hide her embarrassment. "Ruby… I know it's not your fault… but I'd very much appreciate it if I didn't have to speak into your chest every time I turn." "EEP! Sorry!" I said, jumping back down… only to not count on Pyrrha still gripping my leg, causing me to fall to the ground, sliding against her leg as she held my other straight up in the air. "Owie…" I muttered, rubbing the back of my head as Pyrrha sighed.

"Maybe we should start with some balance exercises…" she muttered, holding out a hand towards me. I took it, feeling her pull me upright as I gripped her shoulder and elbow, steadying myself. I let go of her, but Pyrrha didn't let go of me. She guided me over the ropes, back towards an area of the gym with what looked to be row of boards, all of them over bricks in what seemed to be the fashion of a seesaw. "What's this?" "They're wobble board… I've got a low budget okay? I make cuts wherever I can." Arslan said flatly, walking away from me and Pyrrha, back towards some of the other people in the gym. Pyrrha didn't seem phased, looking down towards my feet.

"Take off the shoes, socks too." she said, doing the same thing herself, exposing her bare feet. I did the same, setting my shoes next to Pyrrha's, my socks inside them. Pyrrha looked at my shoes for a second before slowly, with a blank gaze, turning back towards me. "Do your shoes… seriously say 'Right' and 'Left' on them?" "Oh! Uh, you see uh, that's not-! I mean… yeah… yeah they do…" I muttered, drooping down, letting my arms swing as my face burned in embarrassment. I heard Pyrrha giggle as she placed a hand under my chin, lifting me up slightly as I felt her hand cupping my cheek slightly. "It's okay Ruby, just stand on the wobble board like I am." she said, gesturing beneath her with one hand. I looked down, stepping out of her grip as I noticed her feet equally spaced, one on either side in marked places.

I stepped onto the right side, feeling it hit the floor, then on the left, shaking slightly as I heard the rattling of the board hitting against both sides of the gym floor. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I looked, seeing Pyrrha's board holding perfectly straight. I stopped trying for a second, letting it fall to one side as I looked down, bewildered. "Wha… how…" "It's not as easy as it looks. I've been doing this for years, don't be intimidated. Follow my lead." she explained as she stepped off. I complied, watching as Pyrrha set one foot on at a time, and I felt her leaning towards my right as I leaned left, our heads near touching. Pyrrha didn't say anything, rather just slowly shifting her weight towards the center. I did the same… only for the board to immediately hit the floor on the other side.

"You're trying to do it too fast Ruby. Sometimes you just need to slow down a little." Pyrrha said, smiling at me. I nodded, taking a breath as I stepped up, looking down as I slowly, slowly, shifted my weight. The board was still shaking, so were my legs at that point, but I'd finally managed to get both sides off the ground. "Ahaha! I did… oh…" I said, frowning as I noticed, in my second of celebration, the other side had fallen as well. I heard Pyrrha let out a giggle again as she motioned me to try once more. "The key to balance is focus Ruby. Get to the balance, and try to do everything I say, okay?" "Got it!" I said, eager to try again. I'd _had_ it for a second! I stepped up, balancing and, taking Pyrrha's advice, not settling in this time. I heard Pyrrha start speaking a second later.

"First, close your eyes." she said. I complied, shutting my eyes as I felt a strange, queasy sense in my stomach. I could feel it almost doing flips with every little movement. "Hold your head high Ruby, look straight ahead, but keep your eyes closed." she said. I complied, holding up my head to where it would normally be. I found that, this way, the feeling of flipping was a bit less. "Excellent. Now, focus on something that makes you… happy. Something relaxing, serene." she said. I nodded, picturing it as I began to see my vision take shape. "What do you see Ruby?" "I see… a plate of cookies, with a strawberry in the center. The whole thing is arranged like a cute little flower." I said, smiling as I envisioned it. I could hear the questioning tone of Pyrrha's voice, I figured she was raising an eyebrow at me.

"That's… specific… anyway, now deep breath." she said. I took one, holding it for a second. "Exhale." I complied, letting all the air out of my lungs as my track coach always taught me. "In." I inhaled. "Out." I exhaled. In. Out. In. Out. I felt the tension in my shoulders and upper body slowly relax, the muscles in my legs feeling as if they were at rest. I felt hands on my arms, holding them up so that they were held at my sides, near my stomach, but I paid them no mind. "Keep them there, and keep breathing." I heard Pyrrha say. I complied, continuing to breath as I held my hands the same way she had told me. I kept breathing in rhythm, in and out, a small smile on my face forming as I kept envisioning the plate of cookies with the strawberry. "Now we're going to try something different. I want you to punch forward whenever I saw 'KYA!'. I'll do it after you inhale, and say 'HA!' when you exhale, alright?" "Okay…" I said, keeping my eyes closed. I obeyed her instructions… maybe a little too well.

"Kya!"

"HA!"

"Just like that! Kya!"

"HA!"

"Alri-KYAAAAA!"

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"

"You little…"

I heard what sounded like a loud crash, and I couldn't help but open my eyes. I looked over, my eyes widening as I saw Arslan lying face down in a pile of weights, the rack for them falling over on top of her. "Ow." she said flatly. I looked over, seeing Pyrrha wrapping her arms around her chest, her face the color of her hair as she glared towards Arslan. She looked at me, that red of what may have been anger turning into more of a pink embarrassment. "What just-" "NOTHING! NOTHING JUST HAPPENED! FORGET WHAT YOU HEARD!" she suddenly yelled, grabbing my hands as I struggled to keep balance. Pyrrha looked down, stepping back before she looked up, smiling at me.

"Look at you, you're balancing perfectly already." "I am?... Hey! I am!" I said, smiling as I looked down, seeing my feet placed perfectly on the board, not wobbling one way or the other… for about half a second, and then it immediately shifted to the right. "Aww…" I pouted, looking down at the board. Pyrrha got a quizzical look on her face as she gently grabbed my upper arm, pulling me off of the wobble board and to the side. "I think I understand now… you're an instinct fighter." "But I don't fight my instincts." I said, raising an eyebrow towards her. Pyrrha let out another giggle, one that caused me to giggle slightly as well, even though she was _likely_ giggling at my expense. Her laughter seemed contagious somehow. "No Ruby, it means that you fight _with_ your instincts." she said.

"Oooooh… huh?" "Ruby… it means you don't _think_ when you fight. You do what feels natural." Pyrrha said, giving me a patient smile… I swear she had to be the most long suffering person to keep putting up with me. I nodded a few times, smiling at her as I grasped the concept. She walked over, pulling on her shoes and motioning me to do the same. I did so, looking over at her as I pulled on my shoes and socks. "It's not necessarily a bad thing. Though, when you don't have it drilled into your head what you have to do to mount a proper attack, it's not going to end well. Things like balance, proper stance, counters, they need to become second nature for instinct fighters like you." she said, giving me a smile. I returned it, feeling my face burn slightly at the compliment.

"Umm… Ruby?" she asked, pointing down. I looked down, feeling my face burn from embarrassment this time as I tore my shoes off, noticing the one that said 'Left' was on the right foot, and vice versa. I heard Pyrrha chuckle, "Now I see why you need them labeled." "... shut up…" I said, pulling on my shoes and crossing my arms, turning away from Pyrrha to hide the pout that formed on my lips. I heard Pyrrha sigh before I jerked upright, pout disappearing as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Pyrrha's more specifically. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings Ruby. Can you forgive me?" she asked, giving me a pout of her own. I was… confused wasn't quite right. How could someone as confident and strong as _Pyrrha_ look so incredibly sad and cute when she pouted? I turned away, "Maaaaaybe…" I said, rolling my eyes back towards her.

Pyrrha sighed, "We'll go get some chocolate chip cookies after training… alright, strawberries too." "EEEH! Thank you!" I said, reacting almost instinctively as I wrapped my arms around her. Pyrrha smiled as she stood, pulling me up with her before she peeled me off, me standing up straight this time. She walked towards another area, this one with more people, laden down with what looked to be punching bags. She stood behind a nearby one, patting the front of it as I noticed a picture of a white haired girl with bright blue eyes taped on. Pyrrha quickly reached up, tearing it off and shoving it in her pocket. "Ignore that." she said quickly. I didn't question it as she pointed to the worn spot that was behind the picture. Whereas the rest of the punching bag was black, this spot seemed a shade darker.

Pyrrha grabbed a large tote behind her, a clear plastic one, filled to the brim with what looked to be bandages of some kind. "This is 'boxing tape' as Arslan calls it. Pick out a color and wrap your hands in them." Pyrrha said. I nodded, _naturally_ reaching for the red tape. I started wrapping it around my hands for a few moments, looking up when I was done. "There!" I said, holding up both hands. Pyrrha only sighed, reaching out and grabbing my hands, giving me a stare that made me _know_ I did something wrong. "Ruby… when I said wrap your hands… I didn't mean wrap them _together_." "... oh…" I said, feeling my face burn as I looked down, seeing both hands clasped and wrapped together in what was basically a large bundle of tape. Pyrrha undid it rather easily, quickly demonstrating the _right_ way to do it… fittingly enough on my _right_ hand as well. "Wait… isn't this just gauze?" I asked.

Pyrrha leaned in, holding up a hand towards her right, "It is. Just call it boxing tape, it makes Arslan feel better." she said, winking at me. I nodded a few times, giving Pyrrha a knowing wink in return. I wrapped my other hand, _far_ slower than Pyrrha had done my right, but I got it mostly right this time. "Is this it? Just gau- er, boxing tape?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I would've figured I'd at _least_ put something else on. These didn't look like they'd help all that much if my hands got hurt. Maybe absorb some of the blood but, other than that? Not really. Pyrrha shook her head, "In training, yes. The way me and Arslan's teacher was, she'd have us wear just this to help make our knuckles harder, get rid of the 'pudgy hands' look. Though, in a _real_ fight you'd want to at least have hand wrappings over the boxing tape." she explained. "Now then, let's see what you've got." she said, stepping behind and holding the punching bag. I smirked,

"Alright, but I expect my cookies after this!"

 **(a/n- yeah, I made Raven this world's Don Vito Corleone. All we need is for her to say... well, you know where I'm going with this.)**


	4. Dinner party with Velvet (aaaaaawkward)

Chapter four: The road to hell is paved with… you know where this is going.

"Miss Schnee?"

I groggily opened my eyes, frowning when I looked up. I felt the comfortable bed, silk sheets. I definitely wasn't back in Roman's fight club. I saw the pale white ceiling with the snowflake painted right above me as I turned my head, giving a small smile as I saw the man walking towards me. The caring brown eyes, the suit, the balding head with spots of brown hair around the edge. "Klein." I said, slowly sitting up, feeling the silk falling off of me as I stood. Klein gestured to my right, revealing there to be a pale, white dress a few feet away, along with high heels and underwear. "Mr. Schnee will be attending a dinner tonight, and he has asked you to attend. He says you are to bring a guest." he said.

I glared at the clothes, looking down at my own. I was dressed in a long, silk gown. I didn't bother to put on any underwear before I fell asleep. Fighting tired me out. But it was a good kind of tired, the right kind of tired. Not like the draining tiredness I felt being all proper around my father. "When's the dinner?" "Eight o'clock sharp. Though," he leaned over, his eyes flashing red, his voice becoming more snarky, "I doubt any of those slimy snobs will show up till nine." he said. I giggled as he sneezed, apologizing as he kept sneezing, sending me into a laughing fit. I had to double over because of it. He smiled when I regained my composure, his eyes turning brown again. "It's good to see my happy little snowflake hasn't melted." he said, right before he turned around, walking out the door.

Once he was gone, and I was left alone with the silence, I frowned, gritting my teeth as I reached down, practically tear the offending silk garment off my body. I watched it fall in a heap in the corner of the room, along with some of my other clothes. I looked down at my hands. Calloused, knuckles hardened, fingers thin. They weren't the hands of an heiress. They were the hands of a fighter. "That's what I am… at least, what I _should_ be." I muttered, turning and walking towards the bathroom, only to pause, looking down and seeing my scroll buzzing. I walked over, raising an eyebrow when I saw it was Oobleck's number. Being his patient so often, he felt it necessary that we exchange scroll numbers. 'In case I was injured' he said.

I answered, holding it up to my ear. "What is it?" "Oh! Um… is this Weiss?" I heard a higher pitched, nervous female voice ask. I couldn't help but smile when I heard it. There was no denying who that voice belonged to. "Oh, hi Velvet." I said. She started talking, but despite me trying to listen and understand her, with all the pauses and stuttering, I found myself just hearing her voice, nothing else. No meaning behind it, just the voice. Minus all the stuttering and nerves, she had a really pretty voice. "Um… is that a yes or…" "Huh? Oh sorry, I zoned out for a second." I said, feeling my face tinge pink. I wasn't really sure why but, there it was.

"I said, when are we going to park? Remember? For… for the uh… thanks! Yeah, to thank you!" she said, getting back to her train of thought. I only smiled, looking over towards the white dress. I smirked slightly as I remembered, I was allowed to bring a guest. This party was going to be _filled_ with fancy people and others… "Actually, after the park would you like to come to my place? We're having dinner and one of the guests couldn't make it." So, let's see their reaction when I bring a random faunus girl in. Velvet -and I could almost _hear_ her blush over the scroll- was thanking me, saying nice things, asking when the park thing was, if that was still going on. "We'll head to the park around four, then we'll head to dinner… oh and, dress casual alright? It's not a formal event." I said, feeling that wicked smirk on my face grow wider and wider.

" _This is going to be_ _ **fun**_ _._ "

…

"Weiss?"

I turned around, smiling as I saw the brown haired faunus dashing towards me. She was dressed in what looked to be jeans and a brown turtleneck. She was wearing some black sneakers, nothing out of the ordinary. I was dressed in a plain white shirt and jacket, with a pair of jeans to match. I had on my white shoes, the same kind as Velvet's oddly. She walked over to me, giving me a small smile, her face tinged pink. I had no doubt during the entirety of our day she would be like that. Strangely, the was also carrying what looked to be a picnic basket in one hand, her other waving at me. She had a smile on her face, and upon seeing it, I was powerless not to smile back.

"Hey Velvet. What's with the… you know we're going to dinner, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Velvet raised an eyebrow too, then both of them widening as I saw her ears stiffen, her cheeks burning as she slowly looked down, as if just realizing the picnic basket was in her hand. Velvet looked down, bending over at the waist, letting her arms dangle. "I planned to make this before you called… I forgot about the… I'm really sorry…" she said. When she stood straight, I noticed there were tears in the corners of her eyes, her face still red. I just gave her a smile, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "What all did you pack? We might be able to eat some of it." I said, looking slightly up at her. She smiled down at me, sniffing.

"Well… I ,um, packed a few carrots? Some bread… not for us! I um… figured we could, maybe… feed the ducks with it?" she said, looking away from me as she played with one of her long strands of hair, her face burning. I reached over, gently holding the picnic basket between the two of us. I opened it, revealing there to be a few carrots, a few slices of bread, and what looked to be a blanket taking up the other side. " _Can't say I've ever heard of someone putting the blanket IN the basket but… oh well, one less thing we have to carry._ " I thought as I shut the basket, taking it from her, setting it in my left hand. "I'll carry it." I said. I left no room for debate, not that she tried to debate me anyway, as I started walking, Velvet walking with me.

After a few minutes I looked around, finding that we weren't alone. Two people were walking towards us. A boy and a girl. They were both smiling, happily walking, their hands entwined. I looked back towards Velvet, finding that she was absently looking around at the beauty, the same way I was. I saw the people pass as I let my hand reach out, gently grabbing hers. Velvet looked down, her eyes widening in surprise as he face burned. Then she looked away, adjusting her grip so that we really were holding hands, her face burning brighter. I smiled as I turned away, feeling my own face tinge pink. It was… nice. Her hand was soft, warm, unlike mine. Mine were always cold and hard… wonder if the way we act has anything to do with how our hands feel.

"Th-this is the lake." Velvet said, stopping, pointing off to the right with a shaky hand. I looked over, revealing there to, indeed, be a lake. I was rather surprised I'd missed it, considering it was the biggest thing in the _entire_ park. I nodded, letting Velvet lead me this time, following her towards what looked to be a large tree, a few letters carved into it. Stereotypical things like J+P in a heart, things like that. Or "Qrow was here", those kinds of things. There weren't many, surprisingly, except on the back, as the front was just a blank slate… that or they had all been on the front for much longer and had been covered by the growing tree. Velvet sat down as I sat the picnic basket down on her lap, sitting myself next to her. She moved the basket so that it was balanced on her left leg and my right, barely an inch of air between them.

She opened the basket, pulling out a slice of bread, handing it to me. I took it, her taking another one before she shut the basket, moving it off to the side. Out feet were right near the edge, so throwing them in wasn't hard. I looked over, copying what Velvet was doing as she took her hand from my grip, taking out parts of the center of the bread before tossing them in the pond. I did the same, tossing smaller pieces than her as I heard the familiar quacking of ducks, a few of the green headed birds swimming towards us. "Aww… the little chicks are so cute~" Velvet fawned, smiling down towards the smaller, baby ducks that were swimming over as well, feeding with the mother. At least, I _guessed_ it was the mother. Hard to tell really.

After a few seconds Velvet tossed in bits the crust, as I did the same. She was done with her bread in a second, content to just sit there and watch the ducks move around, eating the pieces she'd tossed. I tossed in a few more before my own bread was done, and I too sat there, watching. I leaned back, feeling my back against the tree as I felt my face shift in discomfort. I looked behind me, finding there was a strange knot on the tree, jabbing into the far left of my back. I laid my hand on the ground, pushing myself over slight before leaning back again, smiling as I no longer felt the jabbing. Though, when I heard the nervous squeak, I became all too aware of the pressure against my leg. I looked over, finding that I'd moved so that me and Velvet were flush against one another, Velvet's face burning as she met my eyes.

"Sorry… it's just there's-" "I knot on the tree? T-There's… one here, too… see?" she said, leaning up and pointing behind her, revealing there to be a very similar one to mine. Other than it wasn't actually _touching_ Velvet, just preventing her from moving over. I leaned back again, looking over at her. "I guess we'll have to stay like this then." "Yeah… carrot?" she asked, giving a nervous smile as she held one of the small objects out towards me. It was a baby carrot actually, not an adult one. I smiled, taking it from her and twirling it slightly in my fingers. I popped it into my mouth, smiling when I tasted it. It was… different. I'd never had one quite like it. "Where'd you get these?" "Oh, I grow them! I uh… I mean the market! Yeah! The market!" she said, nervously looking away from me.

"You act like growing them's a bad thing." "Well… uhhh…" she put her head in her hands, "Sorry I… I don't want to mess up. You're the only one whose shown anything other than contempt for me in a long time… I-I… I haven't got many friends so…" she pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them as I saw her lay her head down. I leaned over, doing the only thing I could think of as I put my head on her shoulder, my arm wrapping around her and placing it on her other shoulder. I smiled, "It's okay… we're in the same boat then I guess." I said. She pulled back slightly, blushing when she looked down and saw my head on her shoulder. She didn't try and move me though, just stretching her legs back out, letting her head lean over, hitting gently against mine. "I haven't had… anything like this since… well, since… I don't-" "It's okay… let's stop talking for awhile, okay?" I said, smiling back up at her. She returned it, looking towards the ducks.

I couldn't tell how long we sat there, silent, watching the ducks floating around the pond, listening to the rustle of the trees in the wind. We just sat there, enjoying each others company and warmth… until, of course, I felt my scroll buzz. I frowned, reaching over and pulling it out, gritting my teeth when I saw the time. It was an alarm I'd set earlier, telling me that it was 6:30. Time for me to head home. "We need to go… dinner will be starting soon." I said, reluctantly standing up, feeling the cold wind chill hitting me full force. Velvet gave me a sad expression, one that instantly made me want to sit back down and hug her, but she stood regardless, grabbing the basket before she smiled at me. "Yeah… wouldn't want to be late." she said, her blush having died down over the course of… what? An hour? Two? I didn't know, and frankly I didn't care. It wasn't long enough.

The two of us started walking out of the park, Velvet carrying the basket this time. I felt a pressure on my hand as I looked down, finding that Velvet had taken my hand this time, wrapping her right around my left. I adjusted my grip, giving her a smile as both our faces tinged pink. We turned back ahead, me leaning my head against Velvet's shoulder as I tried to save some of that feeling from a few minutes ago, one that was rapidly fading against the cold wind, as if it were blowing it away. Eventually I lost it, but I kept my head on her shoulder, hoping that I could feel it again. We walked through downtown, me leading the way as Velvet's eyes widened. " _That's_ your house?" she asked, her face paling. I just nodded, frowning towards it. "Yeah… sadly." I muttered.

I walked up to the door, reaching into my pocket, taking out my keys, and opening the door without hesitation. I saw Klein waiting for me, smiling towards me for a second before he looked back, eyes widening when he saw Velvet walk in, lightly gripping at her arm. "H-Hello…" "Ms. Schnee… I dare say the old fool will be shocked at this one hehe." Klein said, his eyes turning red before he walked out, still laughing as he walked towards the kitchen. I took Velvet's hand again, leading her upstairs towards my room. When we got to the door I stopped. "Wait right here. If anyone asks, you're Weiss Schnee's guest, okay?" Velvet gave a meek noise of approval, hunching in on herself as she looked around. I stared a beat longer before I walked inside, shutting the door. I glared down at the dress as I picked it up, walking towards the bathroom. The only consolation in my mind the look on my father's face when he'd see Velvet.

After a few minutes I came out, grunting as I forced myself not to pick and prod at the dress. I'd sooner just be in underwear, have some wrist guards on and be in a boxing ring at to where something so _stupidly_ hard to move in. I brushed my hair back, tying it into a ponytail as I walked towards the door, my young years of training giving me the practiced expertise at walking in high heels. I opened the door, walking out to see Velvet still standing there. When she looked up, she froze, her face burning again as she looked away. "Y-You look-" "Stunning? Unbelievable? I know… don't remind me." I said, frowning as I walked over, taking her hand again.

"I-I thought… I thought this… oh no… I'm not really dressed-" "Velvet, you look great. You'll be fine." I said, smiling at her, not having to look up thanks to the high heels. Velvet blushed darker as she looked away, shaking like a leaf. Meanwhile I lead her towards the dining room, stopping when I saw my father, younger brother, and my sister -who'd just gotten out of the hospital- sitting at the end of the table. Winter still had a bandage over her nose, as well as what was basically a white sash wrapped around her head, trying to keep her jaw in place. Thanks to her hair though, it was rather hard to tell where it started and ended. It seemed Klein was wrong about the other guests too, as it seemed most of them had already arrived, walking around and talking with one another, as well as my family. I was about to walk in when Velvet stopped me, looking towards them. "Weiss I… I can't do this." "What do you mean? All you have to do is walk in with me, sit down, eat, and… well, exist." I said, giving her the most comforting smile I could manage.

"No I mean… y-your family they… I'm sorry! I… I'll try…" she said, looking up at me with a both embarrassed and determined expression… not sure how she did it but hey, there it was. I nodded, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before I pushed open the doors, drawing the eyes of almost everyone in the room as they all went dead quiet, watching as I lead the shy faunus into the room. My father stood, along with Winter and Whitley, as they walked over, Winter giving me a smile, as well as a wink. Whitley just glared at me the second he thought no one was looking, part of that glare sometimes going to Velvet. My father… well, he just looked bewildered. I'd brought a poor _faunus_ as my plus one? "Father," I broke the silence that had filled the room, "This is Velvet. She is my plus one this evening." I said, gesturing towards Velvet. I motioned for her to say something.

"Hi." she said, her voice cracking, her face burning, her grip on my hand like iron. A small few of the people around, likely those that actually _cared_ about faunus, started talking again, speaking with others and drinking, but the rest all looked towards me and, more specifically, Velvet. My father looked like he was about to say something when I spoke, "What's the matter Father? Is there something _wrong_ with me bringing a _faunus_ friend?" I asked, giving him a subtle smirk as I heard a few people whispering. I'd backed him into a corner, and _oh_ it felt good. If he said there was a problem, people would know he was racist against faunus, something he'd _repeatedly_ denied in interviews. If he said there wasn't, people would think he was fine inviting some random poor faunus into his home. Either way, neither choice would end well. I could see the gears in his head turning just before he spoke.

"Well not at all. I'm just… surprised, is all. After all, I've never met this… what did you say your name was?" "Umm… I-I'm V-Velvet…" she said, her stuttering and shaking amped up to new heights by the pressure of the many eyes in the room. My father nodded, looking around towards his guests, his eyes telling them what he wanted, the way they always seemed to. Everyone turned away from his gaze, except a rare few, who still glared at Velvet. Soon the music in the room resumed, everyone talking just the way it was before Velvet had walked in. I held Velvet's hand as we walked towards the tables of food, laden down with a thousand things. Velvet's nose twitched, in a way I'd liken to a rabbit, fittingly enough, before she looked up, her eyes widening. I grabbed two plates, handing Velvet one and taking another for myself. "Help yourself Velvet." I said, giving her a smile as I started loading my own plate with a few things.

I looked back, seeing Velvet grab a plate with her shaky hands, loading on a few vegetables, setting the tongs back against the plate with a few jagged notes. I turned back around, my own plate loaded, as I stepped behind Velvet, watching her. After a second she turned towards me, her eyes asking the question. "Just follow me." I said, giving her a smile before I turned, walking back towards the tables. I chose one far away from everyone else, and _far_ away from my father. All for Velvet's benefit… okay, _maybe_ it was mine too. I sat down, Velvet doing the same as she looked down at her plate, eyes flicking over to me every few seconds. I started eating, Velvet taking the hint and picking at her food too, still hunched over and trying not to draw attention to herself. Her _ears_ were even curling up to try and be smaller.

"Pardon?"

I looked up from my plate, Velvet jerking her head up too, like an alert animal, to reveal a man standing in front of us. I recognized the neat, light brown hair anywhere. The man was clad in a tan suit, oddly enough, wearing a black and gray watch on his right hand. No doubt it cost more than most of the furniture in this room. He was carrying a glass of red wine with him, sitting it down before pulling out a chair, sitting across from me. He flashed me a small smile as I returned it, albeit mine was _much_ more forced. "Dove Bronzewing, of Patch." "Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet you." he said, reaching out his hand. I laid mine in his, forcing myself not to reach up and punch him as he kissed my hand. I couldn't pull my hand out of there fast enough.

"I must say I'm… rather surprised, at your choice of company." he said, gesturing towards Velvet. Velvet blushed, looking at the ground as I saw her put her hands beneath the table, gripping them into fists. I could tell she was trying really hard not to shout… or cry, I really couldn't tell without seeing her eyes. I glared at Dove, "What's wrong with her?" "Oh! Did I… give the impression she was bad company? My apologies, I didn't mean it that way. I've got nothing against the faunus. I just figured she might be… happier, with her own people." he said, keeping that same, calm smile on his face the entire time. I gritted my teeth as I saw a tear drip down from Velvet's face as I glared at the man. He held up his hands, "Don't get the wrong idea, I've nothing against her. Think of it as… these wines." he said, looking around for a solution, he seemed to find it as he behind him and grabbing a half-full glass of white wine from a nearby waiter.

"The two of them are perfectly fine on their own, great even. However, if you mix them, they just don't taste quite right… do you see where I'm going with this?" he asked. I looked over at Velvet, and the second I saw that saddened expression on her face, the tears ready to fall, I knew I had to do something. I reached over, taking both the glasses and, before disbelieving eyes, poured the white wine into the red, taking it and slowly drinking it, keeping my gaze on him until the glass was empty. I set it down.

"I _like_ a good Rosé, thank you very much." I said, standing up. I reached down, placing a hand on Velvet's shoulder. She looked up, and I could only give her a reassuring smile. "Would you like to go somewhere more private?" "Yes… please…" she whispered, slowly standing up and shuffling behind me. I walked away, leaving the stunned Dove Bronzewing sitting at the table, staring agape at the empty glasses of wine. I walked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me. I started walking, heading towards my room for a few minutes. I could see the walls of strength Velvet had put up, to try and get past the evening. I pulled us into my room a few moments later, shutting the door.

The second we were alone, her walls shattered.

She dashed over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and sobbing into my shoulder. I sank against the door, burying my head in her hair as I held her, trying to comfort her. We sat like this for awhile, guilty thoughts running through my head the whole time, until she finally spoke up. "Sorry…" "No, _I'm_ sorry… I asked you to come because I wanted to mess with my father. I only thought about the look on his face instead of how _you_ might feel…" I looked away, feeling the familiar pain in my chest. She leaned back, shaking her head slightly, giving me a smile. "It's okay Weiss… I'm fine… really…" she said, her voice quivering. I leaned in, wrapping my arms around her again.

"You're not fine, don't tell me you are… if you never want to see me again, if you hate me now… I understand." I said, frowning as I said so. I'd done something I shouldn't have… what reason did she have to stick around? "No… It was a mistake. That's all. I don't hate you." she said, smiling up at me. I felt my eyes widen as she stood, holding out a hand. I took it, pulling myself up as I met her eyes, trying to find an ulterior motive, reason… _something_. But… there wasn't one. It was just… Velvet. Her eyes were just as brown and kind as always, if a bit puffy, and her smile was just as genuine. "You… you aren't mad?" "No… a little embarrassed but… no. I'm not mad." she said, keeping that same smile on her face. I looked away from her, still trying to understand.

"What do you want me to do?" "Excuse me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. I just repeated the same question, looking her dead in the eye. By the look I was giving, she knew I was being serious. At least, I _hoped_ she knew I was being serious. "Weiss… I don't _want_ you to do anything. Why are you acting like you did something wrong?" "Because I _did_. I used you for my own sick pleasure, watching my father and everyone at that stupid party see a poor faunus walk into the room. The looks on their faces… _that's_ what I wanted. I-" I couldn't keep going, I just sat down on the bed, looking ahead of me, gripping my hands together. Velvet sat down next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked over, that patience smile, those kind eyes…

"Why are you so nice to me?" "I know what it's like when people are mean to you… I don't want anyone to ever feel that. And uh," she looked away, tapping her index fingers together, "I'm uh, not very good at being mean." she said. I raised an eyebrow, looking over to see her twisting a strand of her hair. I looked her over, with the rabbit ears, kind face, soft hands… it _was_ kind of hard to imagine her as being anything but timid and kind. "Most people just laugh." "How about you show me?" I asked, giving her a small smile. She looked down, frowning as she placed her hands on her forehead, shifting her mouth around slightly as I could almost _see_ the gears in her brain working. "Got it!"

"G-Give me all your m-money you… you uh… whore!" she said, her face bright red. I tried to keep it together at a red faced Velvet in a turtleneck demanding money from me. "BAHAHAHAHAHA!" suffice to say, I completely and utterly failed. Velvet smiled down at me as I fell back on the bed, recovering from the sudden laughing fit as she too fell back, looking over at me. "Told you." "I don't know if that was more cute or funny." I said, smiling over at Velvet. This of course only caused her to blush more, turning around and exposing the back of her head to me. I sat up, Velvet doing the same as I stood, walking towards the bathroom. "Let me change out of this stupid thing, I'll walk you home." I said, shutting the door behind me.

When I walked back out, I was dressed in the same clothes as I was during our walk. Velvet smiled at me as I held out my hand. She took it without question, standing up and following me out of my room, heading towards the exit. "Sister!" I heard the familiar, annoying voice of Whitley say. I turned, looking towards him as he stomped over, his face red with anger as Velvet stepped behind me, a hand placed on my shoulder as I felt her shaking. He glared at me, "What were you _thinking!_ Bringing an _animal_ to such an event like this!" "Take. That. _Back._ " I said, glaring down at my younger brother. He took a step back, but it seemed to only heighten his fury. "I _won't_! You brought a poor, stupid, dumb-" That was all he got the chance to say.

"TKO."

I said as I smiled down at my brother, his arms and legs twitching as I rubbed my fist, sore with the impact to his face. His nose wasn't bleeding, oddly enough, but his eyes may as well have been swirlz, with those cartoonish birds flapping around his head. I didn't let Velvet get a word in edgewise as I turned around, speed-walking towards the exit as Velvet scrambled to catch up for a moment, panting by the time we left the property. I reached up, rubbing my fist. "That… felt good." I said, panting slightly from the walk. Velvet just smiled at me as we turned, walking down the sidewalk, hand in hand, back towards Oobleck's clinic. I guessed she either lived there or _around_ that area. Oobleck had told me once he lived in the clinic, and if he was her godfather… well, it only made sense they'd live in the same place, right?

"Hey Weiss…" I heard Velvet say as we approached Oobleck's place. I sort of tuned out the world around me as I walked through the familiar sites, but Velvet's voice drug me right out of that, back into reality. I turned my head back towards her, "Thanks… for what you did." "Don't mention it, I've wanted to punch Whitley since he came out of our mother." I said, smirking slightly as Velvet giggled. I tried to memorize it, store it away for future use… but I found it was impossible. People's laughs, normally, I could tell who they were by it but… all of Velvet's sounded different somehow. Like, her voice changed every time she would laugh, in a different order of notes or something. It made me want to make her laugh more, so that I could find one that sounded familiar. "Not that… thanks for what you said. About the white wine and, red wine and, rosy… thing…"

"Rosé?"

"Yeah! That. Coming from someone like you… it really means a lot." she said, giving me a bashful smile. I smiled back, finding my face tingeing pink again… for what reason this time though, it eluded me. Normally it was clear. I stopped right in front of the clinic, Velvet taking her hand from mine, standing near the door, hand on the knob. "Velvet," she turned around, "how about tomorrow, after you get off work, we go out to eat together. Just the two of us this time. It can be anywhere you want. Would you be okay with that?" I asked, giving her a smile as I awaited her answer. Velvet only smiled, wrapping her arms around me in a hug, one I quickly returned. She pulled back, walking into the clinic before she turned, smiling at me.

"Yeah…I'd like that."

 **(a/n- Don't know if Rosé will show up properly on mobile, so know it's supposed to be R-O-S-E, and the E has an accent over it (like in some Spanish words). Probably overreacting, but then again tildes and asterisks don't show up on mobile either so hey, it may not show. We'll know when this is posted.**

 **Edit (literally ten seconds after posting the chapter): Okay, accents show. False alarm.)**


	5. Training montage 20 Strawberry Edition

Chapter five: Found, lost, then found again

"Qrow?"

I groggily opened my eyes, my head pounding as I sat up, tossing the flask on my chest to the ground, it clanging against the bottles that laid there. I stood, pressing against my back as I heard it cracking back into place. I yawned, walking towards the door. "The hell do you want!?" I yelled through the door, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my knife, just in case. The voice didn't seem affected by it, speaking with a hint of amusement. "It's me Qrow." "... oh… come on in. Door's not locked." I said, turning around and walking into the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee. When I looked up, I saw the familiar woman walking towards me. The piercing blue eyes were what got me, the white sash around her head blending with the white hair. She was dressed in casual clothing for once, a pair of jeans with a white t-shirt.

She came in and sat down across from me like she owned the place, wading through the bottles and beer cans like she'd seen them a thousand times before. Since she _had_ seen them a thousand times before. "It's been awhile." "It's too early for this shit Winter." I said, glaring at her as I took out the coffee, pouring her a mug of it, while I drank straight from the pot. I'd need _a lot_ more coffee if I was going to sober up fast enough. She smiled slightly as she took the mug, drinking from it the way she usually did. She crossed her legs on the cheer, leaning back slightly before she smiled. "Not happy to see me today? I'd have thought after last time you'd be _more_ than excited to see me again~" "If it wasn't -hold on what time is it?" I asked quickly, mostly to myself as I pulled out my scroll, checking to see that it was, fittingly, 2 am.

"2 am on a Saturday-" "It's Sunday." she said quickly. I did a double take as I checked my scroll. I found that, sure enough, it was Sunday, two in the morning. I'd started drinking at five o'clock… on _Friday_. "Huh… wonder what I did on Saturday?" "You stumbled downtown, beat up eight white fang grunts that were in the middle of a heist, got drunk at the nearest bar, and I had to help you back home around eight o'clock." she said. I just nodded a few times. Yeah, that sounded like me on a drunk Saturday. Wait… where was Ruby that whole time? Was she staying in a hotel somewhere or… huh. "You think that's unbelievable, check your left pocket." she said, a mischievous look in her eyes. I sighed as I reached in, expecting to find some kind of bottle of alcohol, a ball of dirt, maybe even a dead rat. Wouldn't be the first time. Instead though, I felt something soft and silky.

I pulled it out, looking up towards Winter. "When?" "Friday night, I came to check on you and… well, you get the idea." she said. I tossed the object, a pair of silk white panties with a dark stain on the front of them, towards her. She quickly grabbed them, shoving them in her pocket before she smiled at me. "You don't have to sober up on my account." "It's not on your account, it's on the _account_ that I'm out of booze." I said, sipping my coffee. Whiskey tastes better, but then again, I was completely cleaned out. I knew I was, I was _always_ out on the Sunday after a drunk Saturday. "Here." Winter said, tossing something at me. I grabbed it, smiling down as I saw one of my flasks. I opened it, sniffing it before I smiled. The familiar, gut-wrenching stench of Atlesian Vodka. One of my favorites. "To get you through the day." she said, smiling at me.

I stood, walking towards her as she stood up as well. We stared at each other a beat longer before we both jerked forward, wrapping our arms around each other as we slammed out lips together. I tugged back on her hair as I felt her working with my belt, slipping it out as I did the same with hers. When we pulled back, the need for oxygen separating us, we were both holding each others belts. I wrapped my arms around her, sitting down on the couch as she sat on my lap. "Is there ever going to be a time we meet and we _don't_ end up having sex?" I asked, smirking up at her as I pulled off my shirt, her doing the same. She hadn't worn a bra today it seemed. I leaned up, kissing her neck as she answered. "As long as my father doesn't approve of you, I don't think so. Not that I it still wouldn't happen anyway." she said, running her hands down my back, burying them in my pants pockets.

I pulled back, setting Winter on the couch as I placed my hands over her. I felt her move back, unbuttoning my pants for me as I did the same with her. "Who did this to you anyway?" I asked, gently placing my hand on her wrapped up head. She reached up, moving my hand away, placing it on her breast as she leaned up, kissing me again. I could tell she was trying to distract me, even as I pulled down her pants, her mine. "Two men that are already dead. No need to worry. Now, let's do what I _came_ here to do huh?" she said, smirking as she pulled down my underwear. I did the same thing to her, both of us falling to the couch again in a heated kiss. One thought went through my head before I got caught up in the heat of the moment.

" _Let's hope Ruby doesn't find us like this._ "

…

"I… can't… do this!"

"Come on Ruby! Think of the juicy strawberry!"

I fell to the ground, panting, hands on my knees as I looked up, seeing Pyrrha still tauntingly holding the strawberry above the pull up bar, standing on a stool so that she was tall enough. She frowned down at me, "Okay… let's try something else." she said, stepping down and, as if _tormenting_ me, ate the strawberry. I glared at her as she scratched her chin, likely trying to think of something else to do. We'd been doing arm exercises _non-stop_ since the punching bag. She'd said my arms were almost _laughably_ weak, and that we needed… okay really she just said they weren't that strong, but she was _thinking_ they were laughably weak! Maybe… probably? "Let's see… we've tried the dumbbells, all the weights, pull ups…" "Did you try push ups?" I heard Arslan say, holding an ice-pack to her head. She must've still been feeling those dumbbells falling on top of her.

"I… no. I'd _thought_ of it, but how would I reward a _pushup_? It's not as if she can get something every time she goes up or down." "Look as much as I agree you can't train her _normally_ , you really shouldn't be… wait… ohohohohoho. I've got an idea." Arslan said, a wicked smile crossing her face. Pyrrha's own face paled, I had a feeling she'd had some experience with Arslan's _ideas_ before. Arslan dragged Pyrrha over, whispering in her ear. The longer she whispered, the more and more Pyrrha's face started resembling her hair, to the point it even looked _redder_ than her hair. "Are you… _sure_ it has to be like that?" "You want her to get better right?" Arslan asked, glaring at Pyrrha. I raised an eyebrow, taking a drink of water. I was, naturally, _incredibly_ confused about what was going on. What was Arslan suggesting?

"If that wasn't such a good idea I'd punch you in the face… to hell with it." Arslan was knocked down before she knew what hit her, the red-faced Pyrrha's punch knocking Arslan down beneath a weight rack. Five seconds later, one of the five pound dumbbells landed on the back of her head. "Whyyyyyyyy?" she asked, her voice in pain as she rubbed the back of her head. I looked over at Pyrrha, whose face burned brighter as our eyes met. She looked away from me, taking a breath. "As much as it pains me to say it, Arslan may have a point. Ruby, follow me." she said. I complied, standing up and taking my water bottle towards one of the springboard matts near the back of the gym. We basically had the place to ourselves, everyone else having gone due to the late hours. The gym _technically_ closed about twenty minutes ago, but Arslan was fine with us staying.

Pyrrha reached behind her, grabbing a box of strawberries. When she found I'd liked them, Pyrrha came up with the idea to reward me for every completed exercise. Arslan bought them of course, Pyrrha refused to leave me alone in the gym for… some reason. Pyrrha grabbed one, looking over at me. "Do a plank on the floor right there." "Okie-dokie!" I said, smiling at her as I complied, stretching out as flat as I could. I looked straight down, my eyes widening as I saw Pyrrha lay down beneath me.

My face burned as I realized what she was doing, placing the green tip of the strawberry in her mouth. "P-P-Pyrrha!?" "Listen," she took the strawberry out, "Your job is to reach down low enough to get the whole strawberry and leave the green bit in my mouth, _without_ accidentally kissing me. This is to teach you control as well as strength… I just want to say this is as awkward for me as it is for you." she said, her face still burning. She put the strawberry back in as I gulped, moving my arms around into push-up position.

I moved down, as low as I dared, biting the edge of the strawberry. I pulled back up, seeing I'd left almost half of it. "Try again. Get the whole thing." Pyrrha said, her blush starting to die down, replaced instead with that familiar training determination. I reached down, my eyes hardening as I reached closer. I felt my lips a hair above hers as I pulled back on the strawberry. Pyrrha leaned over, spitting out the green bit and grabbing another one. "Keep going." she said. It went on for awhile as I tried to focus on the taste of the strawberries rather than the fact I was nearly kissing Pyrrha every time I leaned down. "Woah!" "You looked like you were having it too easy." I heard a familiar, snarky voice say. I didn't even _need_ to look back to tell that Arslan was sitting on my back, her legs crossed as she put more pressure on my arms.

I tried to ignore it, but when there was one somewhat heavy woman on top of you, gently stroking her fingers through your hair and along your back, and one woman beneath you that you were almost kissing every few seconds, it was kind of hard to _ignore_. I felt my arms almost going numb as I pulled back, sweat dripping down off my face, onto Pyrrha's. "I… I don't think I can…" "You a quitter huh Ruby!? You a quitter!? Keep going! Eat those strawberries! Show 'em who's boss!" Arslan yelled, reaching down and wiping at my face with a rag. I gulped as I reached down on shaky arms, grabbing another strawberry. I must've eaten like _forty_ of those things today. I pulled back swallowing it. I tried to lean down again, but this time, my arms seemed to finally say "forget this".

"MMPH!"

I fell down, Arslan falling off to the side as my eyes widen, face burning as I tasted two things this time. One was the sweetness of the strawberry. The other? Pyrrha's lips. I saw a flash as I pulled off to the side, biting off and quickly chewing the strawberry as I laid my head on Pyrrha's chest, my tired arms unwilling to move me any farther. My face burned to the point of near passing out when I saw that Arslan was holding a scroll, and was positively _dying_ laughing at what had just happened. "OH MY GOD! AHAHAHA! THE LOOKS ON YOUR FACES! OH THAT WAS _SO_ WORTH THE TWENTY BUCKS OF STRAWBERRIES!" she said, falling flat on her back. Pyrrha jerked up, her face burning red as she moved me onto the ground, walking over to Arslan. Arslan stopped laughing, looking up at Pyrrha. "Uh… no hard feelings? Right?" "Right… no hard feelings…"

SLAM!

"But you have a _very_ hard floor."

Pyrrha said, her fist almost shaking as I saw blood gushing from Arslan's nose, her face planted firmly into the concrete. She leaned down, scooping up Arslan's scroll and, presumably, deleting any and all photos of me and her kissing. Pyrrha walked over, holding out a hand to me. I reached up, shakily laying my hand in hers as I let her pull me up. I leaned over, my arms numb as I she practically pulled me forward. "That never happened." "Agreed." I said quickly, leaning my head on her shoulder as I felt the cold, night air hitting me head on. I smiled, letting out a small sigh. It was nice against my sweat covered and _burning_ body. "Where are you staying Ruby… Ruby?" Pyrrha asked. I tried to look up at her, but felt my exhaustion kicking in. The last thing I saw was Pyrrha's face before I let my eyes close, falling into oblivion.

…

"Great… she's asleep."

I muttered, hearing the soft, cute snores coming from the girl. I sighed as I hoisted her up, grabbing her thighs as I felt her arms drape over my shoulders, her head falling on my right on. "Well… I can't just _leave_ you here. Otherwise Arslan… just in case you can hear me, I'm not going to say what." I said. It was probably unnecessary, being as Ruby was _clearly_ down for the count, but I just wanted to be sure. Without knowing where she was staying at, and with night fast encroaching, I started walking towards my apartment. It wasn't far from the gym, only a few blocks, but in that short distance, I had _plenty_ of time to relive the moment Ruby kissed me. She was drenched in sweat, her tired eyes turning wide. It was like everything was in slow motion. " _Are… girl's lips normally that soft or… is that a Ruby thing? GAH! WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THAT!?_ " I thought, feeling my face burn.

" _More importantly, why am I getting so embarrassed? It was an accident._ " I thought. I mean, it would be different if it was my first kiss. It wasn't, far from it actually, not even my first kiss with another _girl_ for crying out loud! Though… something about innocent little Ruby doing it, Arslan getting a photograph (that I deleted seconds later) of it. It made the whole thing so _embarrassing_. After a few seconds I looked up, finding that my feet had carried me through to the familiar apartment building. I walked inside, looking over to see the sleeping man at the reception desk. I turned towards the elevator, since I was _not_ climbing up to the fifth floor with Ruby on my back. I stepped in and pressed the button, waiting for us to reach the fifth floor. "Mmm…" I heard Ruby stirring on my back, she must've been dreaming.

I stepped out of the elevator as I heard her speak, "Daddy… when's mommy coming home?" I felt a stab in my heart as I remembered those words. I remember saying that same thing to my mother, about _my_ father, when I was little. I grabbed my keys, opening the door to my apartment before walking in. It was a modest place. A one bedroom apartment with a bathroom and small kitchen. I walked in, shutting the door as Ruby spoke again. "Better place? When can I see her? When can I see mommy!" Ruby said. I looked back, her face twisting in confusion and sadness. Her voice was higher than usual, it must've been an old memory. I frowned at her as I walked towards the bed. I could tell she was having a nightmare. I heard her sniffling as I set her down on the bed. She started tossing and turning. "Daddy!? Where's Yang!? Where's Yang!? What's wrong with Yang!? Where are they taking her!? Daddy!" she yelled, tears flowing from her eyes as she reached around in the bed, looking for something.

I took off my bra, stripping down and grabbing my nightgown before I heard Ruby speak again. "Yang? Yang please… please Yang, I need you… please don't go… please… don't leave me too… Yang? Yang!? Yang please! Answer me! Yang!" she shouted, sobbing into the pillow. I dropped the nightgown, unable to watch anymore. I sat on the bed, grabbing Ruby and pulling her over to me, against my chest. "Shh shh… it's okay… it's okay…" I said, gently stroking her hair as I pulled her up, her nuzzling against my chest as I saw her smile. She looked up, bright silver eyes made brighter by the tears in them. "Mommy?" she asked, her eyes dazed with sleep. I leaned down, not even thinking as I pecked her forehead.

"Yes sweetie. I'm right here. Now shh, it's time to sleep now." I said, smiling at her as I moved around, pulling both of us under the covers. She wrapped her arms around my, nuzzling into my chest before she frowned at me, "You're… you're not mommy. You smell too good to be mommy… can I… can I still snuggles with you like mommy?" she asked, holding up her hands. I had to stop myself from squealing at how adorable the girl was when she talked like that as I nodded, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her closer, nuzzling my own face into her hair. "Thanks big booby lady…" "I… uh…" I felt my face burn as I just wrapped my arms tighter around her. I decided to ignore it. She was asleep anyway. I just shut my eyes, letting myself drift off to sleep with her, chasing away any nightmares she might have.

…

"Ms. Nikos?"

I groggily opened my eyes, smiling down at Ruby as I saw her still sleeping there, with a small smile on her face, completely content. I raised my head up, looking around for a moment before I noticed the source of the voice. It wasn't hard to spot them, the spiky green hair being the most obvious sign of who it was. The eyes, hidden behind the opaque glasses, were another. "Dr. Oobleck… what're you doing here?" "You asked me to come here last week, remember? Something about being unable to attend your monthly physical?" he asked. I nodded a few times. _Now_ I remembered what he was talking about. He stood, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at me. "Well, I suppose it's just as well you're already naked. Shall we get started?" "Naked? Wha… oh…" I muttered, feeling my face suddenly burn as I realized that, in the midst of comforting Ruby, I'd forgotten to put on my nightgown. Sure enough, it was _right_ there on the ground next to the bedpost. Forgotten. Until now that is.

I stood, Ruby frowning and reaching for me as I did so. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to meet with the adorable girls demands of more 'snuggles' as she called them. Oobleck walked into my living room as I followed, shutting the door behind me. Considering it was only me and Oobleck, I wasn't all that concerned. When it came to me, him and my body, there were no secrets. No need of them. I pressed my back flat against the nearby wall as Oobleck grabbed out a measuring tape, holding it up to the top of my hair. "Hmm, you've grown an inch since last time." he took it around my waist, "You've added half an inch to your waistline," he moved it around my butt, "An inch to your hips," and at last he moved it around my breasts. "And you've gone up almost half a cup size… you haven't gone and gotten pregnant now have you?" he joked, the two of us sharing a laugh.

"Regardless," he moved a small scale over to me, one which I immediately stepped on. He nodded a few times, writing something down. I couldn't actually _see_ the scale, being as my breasts (which had apparently grown) were in the way. "It's official Ms. Nikos. You're overweight." "By how much?" I asked, raising an eyebrow towards him. I was overweight? Well… then again, I _had_ been rather lax about the training lately, more along the lines of helping people that were injured rather than _causing_ the injuries. "You gained fifteen pounds over the course of three weeks, making you 190 lbs today. It's not by an incredibly _large_ amount, your BMI is only 0.9 points above being average, but you _are_ borderline. You've also gained quite a bit more… what have you been eating recently?" he asked.

"Well… I guess I _have_ been eating a bit more than usual. I mean I can't even _count_ the number of strawberries I ate yesterday…" I muttered. Everytime Ruby couldn't do an exercise, and to teach her some form of discipline, I'd eaten the strawberry she would've gotten as a reward. I must've eaten at _least_ twenty of them… Ruby wasn't all that great with her arms. Safe to say. Oobleck nodded, "Well, while it isn't _terribly_ unhealthy at this stage, I would highly recommend getting back to exercising on a daily basis. I know you haven't been since… well, since young Mr. Arc…" "Stop. I know. You're right, I haven't. I think I'll be starting that routine back up again soon enough." I said, giving him a small smile. Oobleck returned the smile, standing up and piling his tool back into his bag.

"Well, I'll let you get back to dealing with your house guest… though, I'd suggest putting on some actual _clothes_ before you do so." he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out the door, shutting it behind him, leaving me a blushing mess. I walked back into the bedroom, doing as Oobleck suggested and quickly grabbing a pair of underwear, as well as my nightgown, walking towards the bathroom. Once I got there I just set everything on the toilet, flicking on the water as I started running a bath, letting my mind start to drift as it usually seemed to when I was doing such menial tasks.

…

"Ooooww… my aaaarms…"

I moaned as I moved around, looking down as my arms hung uselessly at my sides. Both were red and sore, unable to be moved. I looked around, raising an eyebrow. This… this wasn't the hotel I was staying at. I _would've_ stayed with my uncle but, I'd rather not be around him when he's drunk. I'd rather not pick up his habits. The hotel I was staying at was one of those dirt cheap places that I could actually _afford_ to spend more than two nights in. Granted… well, tonight was my last night there anyway. I didn't really have enough money to keep staying there. I looked around, finding that the whole room was decorated in boxer memorabilia, with large posters of female boxers covering the walls… and then, something in the corner of the room.

It was a large, glass case, a name engraved on the side. I moved around, letting my arms fling around uselessly as I walked closer. My eyes widened as I looked in. I saw a pair of ornate gloves, or maybe they were just hand wrappings? It was kind of hard to tell, but they were still bright red, sparkling in the dim light anyway. Beneath them I saw newspaper clippings, some of them with the pictures still in them. "The Red Maiden wins again!" "The Red Maiden becomes undefeated Mistral Champion!" "The queen has not fallen! Mistral Champion Red Maiden remains undefeated!" "Who is the Red Maiden?" they were all about this Red Maiden character. I looked back, finding there was one clipping that was larger than all the rest, right behind the gloves. I couldn't read the headline, but in the picture it showed Pyrrha holding up her hands, a man standing right next to her, holding up her left hand.

The man had short, blond hair, blue eyes as deep as the oceans. He was shirtless, dressed in boxing attire similar to Pyrrha as he too held up his hands, the two of them standing in the middle of a boxing arena. The boy was dressed in a pair of white shorts and gold and white gloves, similar to Pyrrha's in style. I could read a small, faded caption on the bottom. "' _Jaune Arc (pictured left) and Pyrrha Nikos (pictured right) win the 31st Annual Vale Tag-team championship. The duo announced their plans for m…' Huh, somebody ripped off the rest of the article. Wonder why?_ " I thought. I leaned back, looking down to find that, as I kind of figured, the case belonged to Pyrrha Nikos, the bronze plate engraved with her name on it. I nearly jumped as I heard a voice behind me, "You seem to have made a nice recovery."

I whirled around, about to spout excuses when I stopped, eyes widening at Pyrrha. She was dressed in a red nightgown, one that seemed a fair bit too short for her, being as I could see most of her thighs, as well as a fair amount of cleavage. Her hair flowed down as it usually did, droplets of water sparkling in the light, the aura of someone who'd just had a bath around her. Yet, apparently, she hadn't fully washed her hair. I tried not to think about that as I suddenly remembered something, "Wait a second…" I reached into my bra, fishing around for a second as I saw a small wrapper, one I'd neglected to throw away earlier, with the familiar name of a cookie company on the side. I looked between it and Pyrrha a few times before I nearly squealed. " _You're_ the Red maiden! Oh my _gosh_ I DON'T KNOW HOW I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU!" I yelled, dashing over and latching onto her arm.

"You… know about me?" " _ABOUT_ YOU!? YOU WERE LIKE _THE_ NAME IN BOXING A FEW YEARS AGO! YOU'RE THE REASON ME AND YANG WANTED TO BOX IN THE _FIRST_ PLACE!" I yelled, feeling my heart pounding. I couldn't believe that I was standing with, had trained with, and had even _kissed_ _THE_ Red Maiden herself. I was kind of surprised no one had noticed… then again, she _did_ always where that mask on stage. She smiled down at me, wrapping an arm around me as I felt my face burn. The Red Maiden was me and Yang's _hero_ when she first showed up. She was Yang's age, and yet she was one of Mistral's best fighters? It was so hard to believe. "How did you just now recognize me?" "I saw you on my cookie bar!" I said, holding up the wrapping for her to see. Sure enough, there on the front was a picture of Pyrrha in the Red Maiden outfit, with the red mask that covered her entire face, but not her eyes or her hair… I was surprised I hadn't realized it sooner.

"Oh… Ruby this… this won't change anything will it? Now that you know who I am?" "No… unless you want it too that is." I said, wrapping my arms around her as I held her in a hug, smiling up at her. Pyrrha's eyes widened for a second before she smiled, reaching up and lightly rubbing against my head. I pressed into it, smiling wider as I felt my face flush. I heard Pyrrha giggle, "Almost like a puppy." "Hehe… woof woof!" I said, holding up my hands in little paws, lolling my tongue out of my side as I made my eyes as cute and wide as I could. Pyrrha nearly squealed as she pulled me down to the bed, sitting me in her lap as she nuzzled against me. "Stop stop! I'm going to have a heart attack at this rate!" she said, smiling up at me. I smiled back, dropping the 'look like zwei' act as I leaned back against her shoulder. She seemed content to just sit there. "Hey… could you please do something, now that I know you're the Red Maiden. I'll never ask for _anything_ like this again! I swear!" "Hmm… sure Ruby, what?" Pyrrha asked. I reached into my pocket, pulling out a pen and a book.

"Can I have your autograph!?"


	6. Dove Bronzewin OF PATCH!

Chapter six: Guilt

"Weiss… you can't even _begin_ to imagine just how disappointed I am."

I looked up from my bed, letting my eyes lazily gaze around the room. I was seated in my father's study, dressed in about what I'd normally go to bed in, a white nightgown. I hadn't bothered putting on any underwear, the nightgown would be gone when I walked in my room anyway. I preferred to sleep on the carpet regardless, didn't remind me of the man standing in front of me as much. The slick white hair, the bulging and glaring icy blue eyes, holding no love in them, only anger and spite. I didn't doubt it was taking all his restraint not to strangle me right now. Or maybe it was fear over what I could do, what I _had_ done just recently to Whitley. I was drawn from my thoughts by him speaking again. "What do you have to say for yourself? Hmm? Going to apologize for once?"

"What did I do wrong?"

He sighed, reaching up and pressing the bridge of his nose. I was playing the innocent act, feigning ignorance at what was obviously the problem. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing as he sighed again. "Why did you bring her? Why, of all people, a poor faunus girl?" "Is there something _wrong_ with a faunus father? Something wrong with her not being rich? I fail to see the problem with bringing a friend of mine to a party. You _said_ I could bring another guest now didn't you?" I asked, unable to help the small smile. I had him with that one. What did he expect honestly? Someone from my piano lessons? Singing lessons? My art dance classes? None of them even _existed_ for crying out loud. I mean, they did at _first_ … then they were just excuses to go and fight at Roman's club.

My father gritted his teeth, gripping my shoulder with a calm face, but his hand shaking and gripping tight with _outrage_. "Weiss… there is someone I'd like you to meet. Someone who _I_ think it will be best for you to meet now." he said. I heard him say 'come in' as the door opened behind me. I turned around, my eyes widening slightly as I saw the familiar young _asshole_ who'd smarted off in front of Velvet. I recognized the neat, light brown hair anywhere. He still the black and gray watch on his right wrist, but now he'd traded out the tan suit for some khaki pants and a nice gray shirt. He smiled, holding out a hand to me. "Dove Bronzewing, of Patch." "We've… already met." I said, raising an eyebrow at him. Did he just… _always_ greet people with his name and his birthplace? Was that it?

"Mr. Bronzewing is the soon-to-be patriarch of the Bronzewing family, a group of the Schnee Family's most esteemed friends, as well as the head of our operations in Patch. Young Dove here is working on a way to chemically synthesize a stronger polymer than ordinary plastic, he's the youngest man to ever head the Schnee Company R & D department. You've got a bright future ahead of you young man." "Thank you Mr. Schnee." he said, bowing slightly, giving a slight smile in my direction. I ignored it, I'd seen that kind of smile before. Normally it was accompanied by catcalls and people asking for my number. They never got it. They usually got black eyes and broken noses if they went any further than asking for my number or a date. I tried to tune them out, listening casually as my father kept listing off Dove's accomplishments. Until he said something that I just couldn't ignore.

"I can think of no better man to lead our legacy."

" **WHAT!?** " me and Dove both said. He said it in surprised elation, me in surprised _outrage_. Was my father… _seriously_ saying what I thought he was? He couldn't have been… even _he_ wouldn't be so shallow as to do so. "You're… you're not saying-" "I am Weiss. This has been in the making for a long time, I am telling you now because you're nearing the age when such things would be appropriate. Weiss Schnee, meet your soon-to-be husband." he said, his eyes positively _beaming_ with both pride and mischief. He knew what he was doing. What better way to keep your daughter on a short leash than to force her to marry someone you could manipulate? Even if she was already in a rebellious phase? The only thing that _surprised_ me was that he hadn't tried this sooner.

"No. I'm sorry Mr. Schnee, but I can't accept Weiss's hand in marriage." Dove said, shutting his eyes and holding his right hand over his heart. I looked over at him, my eyes widening slightly. Was he… was he actually _refusing_ my father? At the very least that would mean I wouldn't have to marry him, but hopefully it meant he found me disgusting. "Why ever not? Surely she is go-" "It's not that she isn't good enough sir. Weiss Schnee," he turned to me, taking my hands in his. "You are without question the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, so know that I don't mean it in a bad way when I say that I can't marry you. But Mr. Schnee," he turned back, his eyes burning as he looked at my father. "I cannot, I _will not_ marry someone how has no love in her heart for me. Weiss," he turned back to me, "I don't ask you to marry me. But please, allow me to court you, to show you that I'm not so bad. Let me win your heart before I ask for your hand." he said, smiling at me.

"That's… surprisingly chivalrous… but what happens when you don't win my heart?" "I will find a way. Someway, somehow, I'll get you to love me Weiss Schnee. As Dove Bronzewing of Patch, I swear it!" he said, getting on one knee, hand over his heart as he looked up at me. I took a step back, the young man standing back up, giving a brief nod to my father before he walked out the door, shutting it behind him. My father was looking at the door where Dove had left, his eyes still clouded with confusion. "May I leave, father?" "You're going to anyway. Just get out." he said, sullenly walking back over to his desk and sitting down, looking between his palm. I turned around, my smile (somewhat insane) on full blast as I opened the door, looking both ways to see no one there. I couldn't help but jump up in the air a few times, giddy with both excitement and joy.

My father's plan had backfired, _horribly_. Not only did Dove say he _wouldn't_ marry me right now, but he said he'd 'win my heart' first. I _knew_ that wasn't going to happen, I had nothing but contempt for the man, no matter how old fashioned and chivalrous he seemed to be, with the whole 'courting me' thing. In other words, my father couldn't try this again with someone more willing to marry me on the spot unless Dove gave up. I knew his type, he wouldn't give up until I choose someone else or finally gave in. It was a battle of wills, and _no one_ had a will stronger than mine. Until the day I married someone else, Dove would keep my father from trying anything like this again, still courting me and asking for my hand in marriage.

" _Oh this day just keeps getting BETTER and BETTER!_ " I thought giddily as I happily skipped to my room, adding a twirl in towards the end as I opened the door. I couldn't help my giggling as I shut the door behind me, walking in and looking around. Not only had I _horribly_ embarrassed my father in front of a bunch of his close colleagues and potential friends by bringing a poor faunus as my guest, I'd gotten the chance for a do-over dinner with her, _and_ Dove Bronzewing had refused to marry me. I reached up, stripping off my nightgown and tossing it off to the side, running over and falling flat on the floor, a small pillow on the ground. " _Oh I never knew carpet could feel SO good!_ " I thought to myself, smiling as I slept, completely naked on the floor. I couldn't help but smile, _I_ had a dinner tomorrow.

With someone I actually _wanted_ to see this time.

…

"Weiss!"

I smiled as I looked up, seeing Velvet running towards me. She looked… well, different. She wasn't hunching over that much, her smile was brighter than I ever remembered, and her eyes shimmered like the pond we'd been sitting at the other day. She was dressed in, oddly, a brown dress, flowing down to her legs, which were gently placed into high heels. I looked down, frowning. I was only wearing a tracksuit, plain and simple. She grabbed my hand, pulling me towards a small building, one with a few people already inside, most of them faunus. "You could've told me this was formal Velvet." "It's okay! You look amazing! Now come on!" she said, pulling me inside against my will.

Once we got in, my eyes widened as I saw an exact replica of my own dining room, complete with all of the well dressed people inside, except this time, every one of them had faunus features. Tails and ears and strange eyes. In the center there were three people, all with long rabbit ears like Velvet's. They looked over at me, the oldest one (who I guessed was supposed to be the patriarch) glared at me as the music in the room stopped, everyone stopping and staring. They weren't just staring at me though, they were flat out _glaring_ at me. I felt all their eyes pinning me to the spot as Velvet spoke. "Father, this is my plus one. Weiss _Schnee_." she said, her voice sounding oddly proud of herself. Her father grabbed her arm, gently pulling her aside as I saw the sneer on their faces.

I turned, my eyes widening as the faunus practically _descended_ on me. "A Schnee? Here? Must be a cold day in hell." "She's dressed in that thing? What do you think she has beneath it?" "Probably some cheap shit, let's find out~" I felt myself being grabbed from all angles, hands and other appendages grabbing at my clothes. I tried to struggle, fight back, but it only seemed to make them fight more, tearing off bits of my suit, my underwear, my _skin_. Eventually I felt them stop, leaving me on the ground. I laid there, panting, unable to move. All the energy I'd used in the struggle… it vanished. Nowhere to be found. I heard them all jeering at me, calling names. 'Pig', 'whore', 'slut', just to name a few. Eventually though a set of feet walked forward, those same high heeled feet I saw earlier. Everyone else seemed to vanish as Velvet leaned down towards me, smiling.

"Now you know."

…

"GAH!"

I shot upright, looking around wildly as I felt my heart rate skyrocket, my eyes wide as I stood, holding up my fists. When I looked around though, and I saw only my room, I sighed, falling back down, letting my head hit the pillow. I reached up, feeling the water flowing from my eyes as I tried to breathe in, only for a high shrill noise to come out. I didn't stop it, I turned around, sobbing into my pillow as I relived it, every stare, every tear at my clothes, every comment on my body. Velvet was right… I _did_ know now. I knew that I would never forgive her for doing something like this… why would she forgive me? " _I don't deserve her… I don't deserve her or her forgiveness, why is she giving it to me!?_ " I couldn't help but think as I looked up, wiping away some of my tears as I saw my clothes for tomorrow hanging up in the corner.

I didn't even think as I made a mad dash over there, pulling on my sports bra and underwear before I grabbed my scroll, slipping it into my pocket. I didn't think as I dashed through the door, the only thing making me aware it was my doing was the sounds of my feet slapping against hardwood. It wasn't until I was at the front door that I finally started to question it. What was I doing? Running out in the middle of the night, making a mad dash for the poorer part of the city so that I could… what? Why was it so important? I couldn't find an answer… but that didn't stop me from slipping on my shoes, dashing out into the cold night as the door slammed behind me. I ran through the sidewalk, past plenty of onlookers as I felt the night winds slapping me awake. I always did feel more alive when I was cold.

Before I knew it I was in front of Oobleck's clinic, dashing through the open door, up the stairs, and hammering on his apartment door. I knew he'd be downstairs, so that left only one person who could answer the door. I waited only about two minutes before the door was pulled open, revealing the girl behind it. She was dressed in what seemed to be a long, brown onesie, one with a large orange carrot in the center and with little white bunnies dotting it. Her ears were slightly curled up, her eyes drooping as she rubbed one of them with her left sleeve, as when she curled her fist the fabric covered it. "Weiss? What're you," she yawned, "Doing here so early?" I felt the words get caught in my throat as I opened up my mouth, about to ask how she was doing, if she was okay. Instead I just latched onto her, bursting into tears.

Guess subtlety's out.

I felt myself being pulled back as the door shut, my body moving almost on it's own as I felt a soft surface beneath me, two softer arms wrapping around my back and pulling me close. "Oh shh shh shh… it's okay… I'm right here it's okay…" Velvet said soothingly, slowly moving her right hand down my back, her other through my hair. After a few minutes I'd calmed down enough to talk, though tears still went down my face as I pulled back, frowning at her. "I'm sorry… I'm so, _so_ sorry Velvet…" "What for Weiss? You haven't done anything I can't forgive you for." she said, keeping that small smile on her face, despite the tired appearance of her eyes. I leaned on her shoulder, every time I saw her kind, forgiving face… it was just another pang of grief, yet another reassurance I didn't deserve to see that forgiveness.

"Yes I have! I-I _used_ you Velvet! The only reason I brought you to that party-" "Weiss… we've been over this, I forgive you. Please, stop crying. If you don't then you're gonna make me…" Velvet's lower lip quivered slightly as I pulled back, her eyes filling with tears. That got me to stop alright, I held out my hand, trying to comfort her, only for her to go right back to that smiling, tired face. "Velvet… let me make it up to you. _Somehow_ , please." "Hmm… okay," Velvet stood, crouching beneath her bed and pulling out what looked to be a onesie identical to hers, "Put this on. I'll uh… be in this pillow while you get out of those." she said, gesturing to my underwear before planting her face in the pillow, covering her ears. Well… her human ones anyway. I looked down at the cloth, feeling my face burn slightly as I slipped out of my panties, pulling my bra over my head. " _I put her through that hell, this is the least I can do._ " I thought as I pulled it on, zipping it back up.

"Now what?" "Now," Velvet moved off her pillow, nearly pressing against the wall. She held out her arms, a wide smile on her face, "Come cuddle with me." she said. I felt my face burn slightly as I nodded. I said I'd make it up to her, and I _meant_ it. I walked over, slipping in beneath the covers as she pulled me closer, wrapping her arms around me as I did the same. I felt her chin hitting against the top of my head as her legs gently moved over mine, pulling me closer. I looked up, seeing her smiling down at me. "It's three in the morning Weiss, let's get some sleep okay? You can borrow some of my clothes for tomorrow. I've got a little dress I think you'd look _adorable_ in!" she said, nearly squealing as she leaned down, rubbing her nose against my much brighter red one, much like my whole face. Was this… was this a rabbit faunus thing or a… Velvet thing?

She moved back, gently running a hand down my hair. "Not that I'm… complaining but… why're we cuddling?" "Well…" she looked away, her face tinted with blush, "I didn't want to worry you about it but… I have a lot of nightmares… proper nasty ones sometimes. That and… well, I get lonely okay? I really like that feeling that someone's there. It makes me feel less alone." she said, smiling down at me. I felt my blush slightly dissipate as I listened. Then I gave her a small smile, leaning against her and slightly nuzzling into her chest. I smiled, "I get it… I get lonely too. Snuggling with you makes it easier… and if I'm honest you… you're _really_ comfortable Velvet…" I said, turning my head slightly sideways as I looked up towards her. She looked down, not bothering to hide her blush as she smiled at me. She placed her chin on my head as I leaned back into her chest. "Let's get some sleep, okay?" she asked. I smiled,

"Yeah… let's."

…

"Wakey wakey Weissy Weissy~"

I awoke to the feeling of a finger lightly probing my face, poking my cheeks. I reached up, swatting it away as I turned myself over, facing away from whatever it was. "Aww… don't be like that." I heard the voice say. I felt hands running beneath my arms, quite easily hoisting me up off the bed and into the air. I slowly opened my eyes, blinded by the light for a second before it cleared up, revealing the smiling rabbit faunus holding me up. I looked down, my eyes widening slightly when I noticed that she was holding me off the ground enough that my feet were almost at her _knees_ , my eyes nearing the tips of her ears. She started spinning me, slightly laughing all the while. "Wakey wakey! Upsy Daisy!" she said, jumping up slightly, landing on the ground as she swung me around almost effortlessly, leaning my head towards the ground as she looked over me.

"You're a… a _lot_ stronger than you look Velvet." I said, looking over towards her. She wasn't in her sleepwear, but rather a white tank-top, accompanied with some black shorts as well. I could see the faint, slender muscles on her arms, hardly defined, but _definitely_ there, almost like my own. I looked down, her legs had the same kind of look to them, except her thigh muscles were _much_ more defined. She stood me upright, slightly rubbing behind her head. She giggled, a faint blush dusting her face. "Really? I mean, you're light as a feather. Back when we were in the park I was almost worried a gust of wind would blow you away if I didn't hold your hand." she said. I slowly nodded… I wasn't sure if that was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard or the most flattering thing I'd ever heard… what was most surprising was that, either way, it came from _Velvet_ of all people. Likely the most innocent girl I could think of. She probably didn't even realize it.

"Anyway, come on downstairs! We're having breakfast!" she said, gently pulling on my hand. I didn't try to dig in my heels or resist, I just went along with it, letting her pull me down the stairs, still in her pajamas, towards the kitchen where I _knew_ Oobleck would be sitting. I didn't care, let him see me. I was doing this for Velvet, not him. When we walked downstairs I noticed Oobleck standing a few feet away, smiling slightly as he saw me. "I think it's a bit big on her Velvet." "Oh but she's just so cuuuuute~!" she said, wrapping her arms around me and shaking me slightly, my face burning all the while. It was one thing up in her room but… in front of Oobleck? That was another thing altogether. Though, Oobleck just chuckled, standing up and quickly grabbing two plates, setting them in front of us. "I've already eaten, I'll be in the medical bay if you need me!" he said, dashing out of the room and down the stairs.

I looked down, raising an eyebrow as I looked at the food. "What… _is_ this?" "It's a bacon egg and cheese sandwich silly!" Velvet said, giggling like I was joking, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world. When she saw my blank stare, she raised an eyebrow, slowly looking down at the sandwich before looking back to me. "Oh… have you never… eaten, one of these?" "The least expensive thing the chef at home fixes is… umm… well, you know. Not… things like this." I said, looking away from Velvet, blush dusting my features. I didn't want to bring up my meals at home, remind Velvet of who I really was and how this compared… I didn't want to hurt her feelings at all. Velvet slowly nodded, her eyes understanding and patient. More patient than _mine_ would be, if the roles were switched, and I was teaching her which fork to use and when.

"It's alright, it's easy! Just pick it up and eat it! See?" she said, grabbing her own with her fingers, taking a small bite out of the edge. I felt my brain grind to a halt, short circuiting. Eat it? Pick it up? No forks? Knives? Spoons? Just bare hands? "Just… eat it… right…" I slowly said, nodding slightly as I saw Velvet eating hers. I looked down, the brown bagel split open with eggs bacon and cheese pouring from within to the surrounding plate. I reached down, tendering probing at it. Not incredibly hot at least. I picked it up in both hands, lifting it off the plate.

" _Young lady! What did I tell you!?_ "

I dropped the sandwich, backing away from it as I sat up as straight as I could, my eyes widening as I clenched my fists in my lap, feeling my heart skipping a beat, my breathing picking up. I felt pressing on my arms as I reached up, jerking whoever it was down, holding onto them as an anchor for dear life, breathing in the scent of their hair, one of my hands stroking the long, brown mane as I shut my eyes, trying to calm down. The scent was familiar, stirring memories of me and Velvet walking through the park, me getting to be myself. I felt my breathing calming down, my body starting to slowly relax as I opened my eyes, pulling back from Velvet. She pulled away, smiling down at me, her hands still on my shoulders. "Are you okay?" "I am now… thank you…" I said, still trying to breathe normally.

When she stepped back I reached over, picking up the sandwich and, before I could hear the voice again, biting into it. I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I pulled my chair closer, letting my back relax against the chair as I sighed. I didn't hear the voice telling me to sit up straight, telling me to put the salad fork here and the dinner fork here, use what kind of spoon when. It was silent. Me and Velvet ate in silence for the most part, Velvet finishing before I did as she just watched me, making a bridge out of her fingers and tilting her head sideways onto them, her ears slightly moving every few seconds as she smiled at me. When I was finally done I smiled at Velvet. "Maybe I should come here more often. I haven't felt so relaxed in years." "If it means we can cuddle again, I'd love you coming over." she said, smiling at me. She said that statement with no blush whatsoever, nor any lustful intent… how, I wasn't sure. Was she that innocent or… did she really just see it as 'friendly cuddling', if such a thing existed?

I stood, the two of us depositing the paper plates -Velvet had to explain the concept of disposable dishware to me too- in the recycling bin before Velvet took my hand, pulling me up towards her room. The second we got there she shoved my underwear back in my hands, as well as a long, brown sundress. Not at _all_ like the dresses I normally wore, made of silk and satin fibers. This one was made more of cotton and polyester. I walked into the bathroom, slipping out of the onesie and into my underwear again. I slipped on the sundress, slightly surprised at how well it fit, despite being a little longer than I expected. I'd just pulled it on when Velvet knocked on the door. "Are you dressed Weiss?" "Yeah." I answered. The second I did so she walked in, holding a hand up to her mouth as I saw her eyes start sparkling.

"Okay hold still, I want to try something." she said, walking over. I felt her take my hair tie out, setting it on the sink as I stared at the wall, trying to guess what she was doing based on how it felt. It _felt_ like she was parting my hair over on the sides, maybe to make it into twin-tails? It was kind of hard to tell but, if I had to guess, twin-tails was what she was going for. She moved down beneath me after a second, moving my feet up and slipping pearly white, netted shoes onto my feet, the kind I'd seen some people wear on Sundays. I felt her slap something on my head too, rustling against my ears for a second before Velvet held out a hand. I took it without question, watching as she spun me around. I felt my eyes widen as I saw the two of us in the mirror. Velvet looked the same, wearing the tank top and shorts, but me? I didn't even look like _Weiss_ anymore.

The brown sundress had a lighter brown sash around my stomach, drawing the attention away from my (regrettably small) chest. I was wearing a large, pale hat with a pink ribbon wrapped around the center, a bow tied off on the side. The edges came down enough to cast my face into shadows, just on the edge of my vision. If I looked down no one would even be able to see my face. My hair flowed out on either side of my face, framing it down to my chest in a set of twin-tails, guess I was right. I looked cute but, not drop dead gorgeous like I would in my actual dresses. "Well? What do you think? Personally I think you look _adorable_ like this but, you know it's your body and I wouldn't want to-" "No… I like it. If the sundress was white though, _then_ you'd be set." I said, giving Velvet a small smirk.

She smiled slightly, holding up her hands, "Sorry, most of the things I own are gold, brown or orange… but I'm really glad you like it. You look great!" "No… I look good. I would look _great_ in those dresses… but I don't want to look great." I said, smiling as I looked in the mirror. Velvet raised an eyebrow, her ears lightly curling in, likely in confusion if I had to guess. I turned around, smiling at her. "I want to be _me_. So I'm really glad you did this. Now I'm not just some gorgeous girl… I'm me." "Well you're still pretty gorgeous you know. I-I mean-! Uh! T-That's not what I meant! You-!" she cut herself off, her face burning bright red as she started sputtering off apologies and excuses about how she didn't meant to call me gorgeous. When she was done I smiled at her, "Thanks Velvet,"

"Now how about we see what _you_ look like in a dress?"


	7. The part where Ruby FINALLY fights again

Chapter seven: Ruby 'Roundhouse' Rose

"Ready? PUNCH!"

"YA!" I shouted as I slammed my arm forward, feeling the punching bag recoil as it brushed against my knuckles. I stepped back, holding my arms up in front of me, doing a quick jab with my right hand. "Good, now kick!" "HA!" I exhaled, slamming my foot against the bag, watching as it jerked off towards the right, leaving a surprised Pyrrha standing behind it. She nodded approvingly, walking around behind me and patting my shoulder. "You've gotten stronger Ruby, I'm impressed." "Thank you." I said, giving a mock bow towards her… only to nearly fall on the ground. Of course, Pyrrha was used to this by now, catching me before I could fall too far. She sighed, "You know, you make it _very_ difficult to compliment you sometimes." "Hey! I- well actually that's fair enough." I said, cutting off the comeback when I realized just how right she was.

"Training up the little whelp huh?" I gritted my teeth as I heard that voice. I slowly turned, seeing none other than Adam Taurus himself standing a few feet away. He had that familiar, cocky smirk on his face, his eyes hidden by that damn mask. The only thing that kept me from lashing out at him was Pyrrha's vice-like grip on my arm. "Adam… what're you doing here?" "What? I always come here on Wednesday's. I gotta say, you did some good work Pyrrha. Kick didn't look half bad." he said, still smiling. I raised an eyebrow… was that supposed to be a compliment or… what was his game? Pyrrha stepped between us, breaking the eye-to-mask contact. "What do you want?" "Uhh… to work out? I mean, it's a _gym_. Why else would I be here?" he said, his lips twisted in confusion as he gestured around.

Pyrrha slowly nodded, stepping back away from me before he walked over. He looked down, smiling as his mask met my eyes again. "I suggest you get a sparring partner kid, punching bags and sit ups can only get you so far." he said, turning away and discarding the plain white shirt he was wearing, walking towards the dumbbells. I looked at Pyrrha, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head, sighing, "He does that a lot. He thinks he has to help you so he can have a real challenge when he fights you." "I don't think he'll have to help with that." I said, cracking my knuckles as I glared towards him. He either didn't notice or didn't care, laying beneath one of the dumbbells and motioning one of the other guys over to spot him. Pyrrha tapped my shoulder, drawing my attention back to her as she looked around. "As much as I hate to admit it… he _does_ have a point. A sparring partner could do you some good." "Why can't you be my sparring partner?" I asked.

Pyrrha shook her head, "Ruby, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm on a different level of combat than you." there was no doubt in her voice, no arrogance. It was a fact that me and her both knew was true. She was just bringing it out into the open. "No, you need a partner who's closer to your level… and fortunately, I know just the place to find one. ARSLAN! WATCH OUR STUFF FOR US!" she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. I looked back, seeing Arslan walk out and grab our things, taking them back towards what I guessed was her office. Meanwhile, me and Pyrrha started jogging down the sidewalk, me having to hold back to keep from running past Pyrrha. The reason of course, being because I had no clue where we were going.

Though, after about a ten minutes jog (six of which were through alleys), we arrived at -oddly- a nightclub. She walked over towards the nearby bouncer, one that nodded a few times, motioning us in. I followed Pyrrha, raising an eyebrow when we walked inside. It was about what I expected a nightclub to look like, with the dancers, music, DJ and everything, even a bar on the side. Though, why were we here? It _must've_ looked odd, two underage girls in nothing but tight-fitting shorts and sports bras? How often did you see _that_? Though, Pyrrha walked right past all of those people, only a few turning to look at her, and instead headed towards a back door. She walked past another bouncer, away from the loud music of the club, the deep base following us into… Roman's fight club.

"Wait, how-" "It's a front business. You must've come through the flower shop the first time. I find the nightclub's faster." she explained, her eyes focused dead ahead as she walked down through the stands, past the arena where two men were boxing, and off a door to the right. I looked around, seeing doors on either side, what looked to be locker rooms with men and women alike toweling off (of course in different rooms), before she finally stopped at a door marked 'training 1'. "If we're going to find a partner your level, we'd best start here." she said, pushing open the door. Inside I saw girls and boys alike hitting training dummies, punching bags, some even lifting weights. Most of them looked young, some even younger than _me_ walking around, play-fighting with some of the others. The second Pyrrha walked in past me, everyone slowly stopped what they were doing, looking towards her.

Pyrrha cleared her throat, "Listen up! This is Ruby!" she gestured towards me, "She's the newest addition to the level 1's! Who here doesn't have a partner?" she asked, looking around. Two hands slowly slipped up. I watched as those hands slowly made their way through the crowd, always staying right next to one another. The reason for this was revealed when both hands were put down, the _one_ person they belonged to standing front and center. It was a girl maybe around my age, with short, orange hair that fell around her neck, bright green eyes gazing towards us with no hint of nervousness (as was seen in almost everyone else). She was dressed in a pair of gray shorts and a white sports bra. Her arms had small yet defined muscles on them, her legs whispering of strength the same way.

"Oh… you're the only… we'll have to go somewhere else Ruby." "What? Why? What's wrong with her?" I asked, looking towards the slightly taller girl. Pyrrha took me aside, pulling us outside the room and shutting the door. She then proceeded to pull me down the hallway until we were right in front of a door with a snowflake painted on it. "Ruby, her name is Penny. Penny _Polendina_. Ring-a-bell?" "Uwaaaaaaaaah… nope." I said, racking my brain for any mention of the name _Polendina_ in my life… yeah I had nothing. Pyrrha sighed, slowly shaking her head as she reached into her shorts, pulling out her scroll. She typed for a few seconds, not looking at her scroll and keeping her eyes fiercely on the door, before she tapped enter, pulling up what looked to be a video. "Just watch." she said. I nodded, pressing play to reveal none other than Lisa Lavender -one of Vale's more well known newscasters- reporting.

"In other news, a sigh of relief sweeps through Vale tonight as the infamous 'Mad Doctor' has been captured. The Mad Doctor is believed responsible for the murder, rape, mutilation, and dismemberment of over forty-five young women and five young men in the Vale Kingdom area. The victims were often so mangled that the only way to identify them was by their name written in blood on the walls in front of which they were killed. The man police have caught red-handed is none other than Doctor Cop Polendina, who police suspect was using the bones and tissues of his victims to make prosthetic limbs for his patients. His trial is scheduled for March 3rd, where it is expected he will plea guilty.". The broadcast ended with the familiar logo as I turned off Pyrrha's scroll, handing it back to her.

"Understand now?" "What does this have to do with Penny?" I asked, confusion plain on my face as I looked at Pyrrha. She just face palmed, sliding her hand down her face for a second before she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ruby, Penny is the Mad Doctor's _daughter_." "I figured but… why does that mean I shouldn't spar with her?" I asked. I mean, it wasn't like _she_ was the one committing the murders, right? Why would it be a problem. Pyrrha sighed, looking over her shoulder and keeping her eyes on the door. It was almost like she expected someone to pop out at any moment, rush towards us with an ax or something. "Ruby, she was raised by a murderer. What happens if she gets angry that she lost? She could _kill you_ Ruby." Pyrrha said, concern plain in her eyes.

I glared at her for a second before I boldly walked towards the door. Just the same way I ignored my uncle's pleas when I went to fight Adam, I opened the door, seeing Penny still standing there, her hands cupped over her crotch as she smiled at me. "You said you don't have a sparring partner?" "Nope. No one ever wants to fight me." she said, her cheeks lowering into a frown for a second before going back up into her perky smile. I pointed towards the small boxing ring behind her. "You do now." "Really!?" she dashed forward, wrapping me in a hug. "OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I won't let you down!" she said, cheerfully smiling up at me. I nodded a few times, tapping her shoulder. She got the message, putting me on the ground as the two of us started walking towards the boxing ring, all under the shocked gazes of the other level one's and Pyrrha herself, who just looked at me like I was crazy for agreeing to get into a fight with the daughter of a serial killer.

Heck, maybe I was.

I climbed into the ring, getting into a combat stance as Penny did the same, forming the same stance as I did. "Pyrrha… count us down." I said, smirking slightly towards her. She shook herself from her stupor, walking towards me. The smirk I was sending her told her enough, I could see it in her eyes. She understood that I wouldn't turn my back. Not from this. "Okay… three…. Two… o-one… fight!" Pyrrha said, her voice wavering slightly. I didn't waste any time, striding across the ring towards Penny. She didn't move an inch, still smiling at me even as I made my approach. As I swung she dodged it, crouching down and headbutting my chin. I felt my teeth rattle in my skull as I jumped back, ducking beneath a high-kick as Penny went on the offensive. I didn't try to block any of her hits, dodging all of them. She seemed… slow. Was it because I'd been fighting Pyrrha so long I was used to fighting someone faster than me?

The second she kicked again I ducked down, slamming my shoulder into her leg and flipping her over. She fell on her back, rolling back and springing up into a fighting stance. She'd dropped her smile, her eyes zoning in on me as she started slowly padding around me, like a predator waiting to ambush it's prey. I took a breath, getting lower to the ground, just like Pyrrha taught me. Penny started charging, as if seeing her opportunity. I planted my right foot on the ground, winding back my left hand. I swung forward, but hit nothing but air as Penny suddenly fell to the ground, swiping my leg out from beneath me. "OOF!" "Nice try sparring partner!" Penny said, wrapping her legs around my arms, pinning me to the mat. I looked over, watching as Pyrrha's hand came down, everything suddenly in slow motion. "One!"

I started struggling, trying to move against Penny's grip. The whole place was silent, watching our struggle as Penny moved around, pressing her hands against my legs. "Two!" I felt my arms start hurting as Penny tightened her grip, squeezing me like a viper. "Three!" My heart pounded, my breath squeezed out of me, my vision blurred. "Four!" Getting hard… hard to… think… "Five!" Come on Ruby… DO SOMETHING! "Six!" I took a deep breath, looking back as I noticed where her head was, how close it was to my feet. "Seven!" I didn't even hesitate as I jerked my legs up, wrapping them around Penny's neck before slamming down, her legs weakening as I shot up, flipping over her, landing on all fours. I jumped back, staying in a combat stance as Penny slowly stood, staggered. She smiled at me, "You're good… no one's ever gotten out of my python squeeze." she said.

I didn't respond, the two of us slowly circling each other as I tried to regain my strength and my breath. I was weakened now, we both were. She stopped moving, lowering herself slightly. " _She's going to charge me again… I don't think I can break her squeeze twice._ " I thought. I felt my eyes widen as I had an idea so crazy, it just might work… or lose me the fight, could go either way. I planted my left foot on the mat this time, rearing back my right hand slightly as Penny rushed. When she was close enough, I shot forward with my right foot, jerking my left foot up just as she ducked. I felt my foot hit against her and keep going, her entire body thrown back onto the ground, rolling towards the edge of the mat. "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven!" Penny didn't move an inch, her body completely still. I still stood ready, in case she were gathering strength to mount some kind of counter offensive. "Eight! Nine! Ten! TKO!" Pyrrha said, jumping into the mat and holding up my hand.

I heard people start cheering as I looked over at Penny, seeing her slowly moving her hand, her fingers gently tapping on the ground. I started walking over there, gently grabbing her hand as I heard her coughing. "You've… got a strong… leg…" she said, just before her head fell against the mat, her eyes shutting. Pyrrha leaned down, moving her hands around Penny's face for a second in some sort of medical examination I didn't understand. "My… you knocked her out cold." she said. I heard some of the people that had been watching whispering, mostly things about the fight.

"Woah, she knocked out Polendina." (her name is _Penny_ )

"A one-kick knockout? Is that even possible?" (you just saw it happen…)

"With legs like hers I wouldn't doubt it." (wait, should I be embarrassed by that?)

"Looks like she hasn't skipped leg day since she was three." (well… okay, _maybe_ I skipped a few times since then)

"John! I don't want any pretzels!" (okay, guessing that's _not_ about the fight)

"Think she's single?" (okay, I should _definitely_ be embarrassed by that)

"With a face like that and legs like those? No way." (Is… is that a compliment or an insult at how I'm single?)

"John! Go shove those damn pretzels up your ass! No one likes you!" (apparently John likes pretzels… a lot.)

After a few minutes Pyrrha and one of the other level one's carried Penny off to the infirmary, leaving me standing in the center of the mat. Alone. "Hey." Well, not so alone anymore. The person that had spoken stepped onto the mat, striding towards me. They were dressed in the traditional boxer shorts, black ones with white stripes down them. Above that he was wearing a yellow tank top, two dark arms crossed over his chest and a faint smile on his face. Blue eyes met silver as he brushed his bright pink hair out of his face, smiling at me. "Nice match. No one's ever gotten out of Penny's Python." "Penny's what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. The man chuckled, waving hand in front of him for a second before he stepped off the mat, motioning me to join him. He helped me down as he spoke, "See, around here, everyone's got a signature. You've got Weiss's call for mercy, Penny's python, and now you've got your one-kick K.O. All you've gotta do is name it." he said.

"Wait, I thought Penny never had a sparring partner?" "She didn't till you came along. Once in awhile some newbie would challenge her, think she was harmless cause she looks so innocent. Well, most of the time, they'd get in her squeeze and lose consciousness. No one ever wants to be her partner after that, since she can just take you down in one blow anyway. You're the only level one to ever get out of it. Course, some of the higher tiers like Adam and Weiss can but, you're the first level one." he said, still smiling slightly. It was almost like, because I'd beaten her, it was like a favor to him, and all the people he was associated with. That a level one _finally_ breaking the Penny Python was something so important. Which, to me, it really wasn't. He held up a hand, "Sorry, where're my manners? Name's Nadir Shiko." "Ruby Rose." I said, shaking his hand.

He snapped his fingers, "Perfect! Name starts with an R, your move is a one-kick K.O., we'll call it the Ruby Roundhouse." "Oh… well it's not… okay, yeah. Ruby Roundhouse…" I said, not wanting to break his spirits by telling him what I'd done wasn't a _proper_ roundhouse, closer to half of a roundhouse if I was honest. Then again, what other 'R' named kicks were there? He patted me on the shoulder before he walked off, waving at a few other people and leaving me standing alone in the center of the gym/locker-room/ what even _is_ this place? I turned, walking out the door and looking around. Walking towards the room with the red cross on it, assuming it was the infirmary. When I opened the door I saw the place was -oddly enough- completely empty, barring a woman sitting at a desk. I walked over to her, the woman's uninterested eyes looking up at me. "Umm… is this the infirmary?" I asked.

The woman sighed, placing her head in one of her hands as she typed on what looked to be a computer with the other. She shut her eyes, "This is the recuperation area for minor injuries, the infirmary is only meant for patients that are currently unconscious. Now go find your mommy and leave little girl." "... my mommy's been dead for thirteen years…" I said, frowning as I stepped away from the woman. She looked up towards me, her blank eyes telling me just how much she cared as she motioned me off with her other hand. I turned, opening the door and stepping out, my shoulders slightly slumping from the woman's words. " _Just when I'm feeling good, someone brings me back down… oh well, where's Pyrrha?_ " I thought as I turned, walking down the hallways and looking for the infirmary… or, you know, _anyone_ that could tell me where the infirmary was. Granted, the hallways seemed deserted, every door I opened that could potentially be the infirmary completely empty.

"Who're you?" I heard two voices say in unison. I turned around, smiling slightly as I saw two women walking towards me. Both of them had pale white faces positively _drenched_ in makeup, dressed in what I could only assume to be party dresses. Both looked identical, barring the fact one was wearing a white dress and the other a red one. I stepped back, "Uh, I'm Ruby. I'm just looking for Pyrrha." I said, hoping that they'd know her name. The two looked at one another, mirroring a knowing smile before they turned back to me, both gently laying their hands on my shoulders. "She's a nice catch, wouldn't you say Melanie?" "I don't know Miltia, looks kinda small." the one in white said, looking down towards my sports bra. I crossed my arms, blushing slightly as I felt two hands on my chin, making it so I had to look up.

The twins -if I had to guess- moved around, both looking at my face. "Pretty eyes though, huh Miltia?" "Yeah, like watching the moon." the one in red said, causing my face to become a bit like her dress. The two of them giggled, stepping back when I blushed, smiling at one another. "She's even innocent. Her face is as bright as your dress Miltia." "I know Melanie, isn't it adorable?" she said, smiling at me as I felt my face burn brighter. The two walked over, grasping their hands together and pressing them on my back, looping it behind me as they started walking, effectively making me follow. "You think she'd look good in a bikini?" "I don't know Melanie, I think she'd be better in a one-piece." Miltia (the one in red I guess) said, causing me to blush all the while.

I stopped, causing the twins to stop as well, "Look, I don't know who you two are but, I'm just trying to find the infirmary, and Pyrrha." "We know that. We'll take you there if you come with us." the two said in unison, both with ominous smiles on their faces. I gulped and -not really having many other choices- nodded, allowing the two to guide me to what I _hoped_ was the infirmary. They kept walking, still talking about me as if I wasn't there. "I think she needs a cuddly outfit." "Yeah, something that makes you wanna cuddle with her." Miltia responded, my face still burning bright red as the girls complimented me over and over again about my eyes, my hair, my 'cuddle factor' -whatever that was- and finally my face.

Finally though, the twins went silent, stopping in front of a set of double doors. They each reached out opposite hands to open them, pulling them open to reveal -sadly not the infirmary- but rather what looked to be a dressing room. Two racks of clothes set up on either side, along with two vanities, two beds, and a single curtain attached to the ceiling, creating a small square towards the center of the room. The two shut the door behind me, letting go and walking towards the rack. I was about to walk out when they turned, smiling at me. "I'll tell Pyrrha you're hear. Why not have some fun?" "Yeah, why not dress-up with us?" Melanie (the one in white I guess) asked, both of them still having that smile on their faces. I looked back at the door, then towards the twins… " _Well… it's just dressing up. How bad can it be? Better than aimlessly wandering to find Pyrrha for another hour._ " I thought as I nodded.

Miltia walked over, grabbing her scroll and dialing a number as Melanie pulled me behind the curtain, grabbing a tape measure. I stood still as she measured my waist, my hips, my height, my bust (safe to say I kinda blushed at that one), before she stood, smiling. "Lucky lucky, you're the same size as me and Miltia." she said, setting the tape measure down before she turned, pointing behind her back. "Be a doll and unzip my dress for me." she said. I raised an eyebrow, but complied regardless, zipping her dress down for a second before she moved her shoulders, up, stepping out of it to revealed her pale white underwear beneath. She opened the curtain, walking over to Miltia, who was on her scroll with -hopefully- Pyrrha. "Yeah… she's fine… we're playing dress up… don't worry, we won't… alright, bye." she said. During this call, her sister had unzipped her dress, and she had casually stepped out of her dress, talking to Pyrrha in her bright red and black underwear.

"Is this normal for you two?" "We look exactly the same, so we use each other to judge clothes." Miltia explained, grabbing out a few outfits from her rack, Melanie doing the same. They set them on the backs of the chairs near the vanities, looking towards me. They suddenly turned and played rock-paper-scissors, for some odd reason, one that Melanie won. She smiled, grabbing what looked to be a dark blue, one-piece swimsuit with the name 'Miltia' on it. "Put this on. Close the curtains if you have to." she said. I did so, shutting the curtains and -blushing bright red- stripping down to nothing before pulling on the swimwear. I found that it wasn't really that tight on me, fitting almost just like it would have if it were mine. I pulled open the curtain, stepping out to see both of them smiling at me. "She looks huggable." "You read my mind." the two said.

They walked over and, without so much as an explanation, wrapped their arms around me, Melanie hugging my back while Miltia hugged my front. I blushed as I looked around, "Uhhh…" "Switch." the two said, casually stepping away and moving around, now Miltia hugging my back and Melanie my front. We stood like this for a moment before they backed away, Melanie grabbing a white bikini while Miltia grabbed a red one. The looked at one another, nodding as if in agreement before they smiled. "You should come swimming with us some time." they said in unison, smiling as their eyes trailed down my swimsuit. I blushed, covering myself as the twins squealed, both of them rushing over and nearly forcing me to the ground.

"MILTIA! MELANIE!" I heard a familiar voice shout. They both shot up, and I smiled towards the owner of the voice. Pyrrha walked over, grabbing my hand, about to pull me out of the room with her before the twins stopped her, blocking the exit. "She's wearing my one-piece." "Oh… right. Ruby, change out of it so we can leave." she said, looking back at me with a commanding gaze. I nodded, eager to leave. The twins didn't seem like bad people but… they just seemed kinda creepy. The way they did everything in near perfect unison was… unsettling. They looked at one another and, without any words, the two wrapped their arms around one another, effortlessly unclasping the other's bra before leaning down, each pulling the other's panties down to their ankles before both stepped out. They tossed their underwear off to the side before they both walked over to their dressers, each pulling out a nightgown their respective color (red for Miltia and white for Melanie).

"Care to join us?" "No. We're going home." Pyrrha answered for me, which is what I would've said regardless so, I didn't care that much. The two shrugged, both walking over towards the bed closest to Miltia, both slipping beneath the covers, and seemingly going straight to sleep. We were down the hallway and walking out the flower shop I'd come through the first time before I finally spoke, my brain having processed enough to finally do something other than put one foot in front of the other. "Uh… those twins they… what just happened?" "Malachite. That's their last name. They do everything together. Eat, sleep, work, rumor has it they even bathe in the same _tub_. If they see someone they think is either sexy or cute, they'll take them back to their room and… well, they'll dress them up. They've must've thought you were cute of they'd have put you in more...revealing, clothing and tried to… have a little fun." Pyrrha said, looking away from me.

"How do you know this exactly?" "I've been on the receiving end of their games _plenty_ of times Ruby. If they ever ask you to 'join them', no matter _what_ it is, you say no. Understand?" she said, giving me an intense glare. I nodded a few times, appeasing her enough that she looked away, guiding the two of us back towards her apartment. "Where are you staying Ruby, I'll walk you there." "I… well, uh… the gym…" I muttered, looking away from her, my face burning as I looked at the ground. She turned around, raising an eyebrow at me. Then her eyes widened as she slowly nodded in understanding. "Oh… that's how you always beat me there. Staying with Arslan huh? How many times a day does she smack your butt?" "Uh… once at least. To wake me up." I said, looking away from her as I felt my face burning. Two weeks I'd been staying with her, and during that time she'd not made it simple. Course… I was staying for free so, I couldn't complain _too_ much.

She continued on the way to her apartment, stopping in front of the gym and, to my surprise, walking out with my bags. "You're not staying with her anymore." "But… wait, are you saying…" I asked, my eyes widening as I realized what she was doing. She nodded, giving me a brief smile. I returned it, silently thankful I wouldn't have to wake up to Arslan teasing me every day… it was like staying with Uncle Qrow when I was little all over again. Except with more spanking and slightly less sex jokes… oh yeah, and less alcohol around the house for me to accidentally drink (I couldn't read back then! How was I supposed to know it wasn't milk!?)."Thank Pyrrha. But… where am I going to sleep? Don't you just have one bed?" "It's a king size Ruby, you can just sleep with me." she said, turning back around and casually turning down the street with her apartment. I nodded, smiling slightly as the two of us walked in, stepping in the elevator.

"How was Penny by the way?" "Oh, she was fine. She should wake up tomorrow morning but, you didn't kick her hard enough to kill her or anything." Pyrrha said with a slight chuckle, one I returned -albeit more nervously than she did. I nodded, watching as the doors opened, Pyrrha guiding me into her apartment as she set my things on the kitchen counter. "I have to say though, I'm impressed miss 'Ruby Roundhouse'." she said, giggling slightly as I blushed. That nickname had caught on _much_ faster than I'd expected. Pyrrha started moving through my bags, my eyes widening when I saw her searching my suitcase. "Don't-" "What's… this?" Pyrrha said, my face _burning_ as I saw her pull out a large, white pillow. Though, it wasn't because it was a pillow that made my face burn, rather it was what was _on_ the pillow.

What was _on_ the pillow was a life-size image of Pyrrha in her Red Maiden outfit, the red sports bra, short-shorts, even the mask. She looked over at me, smirking slightly. "A body-pillow of me? I'm flattered." "... that was Yang's." I said quickly. It was the only thing I could think of that _might_ make sense. Pyrrha laughed, setting the body pillow aside before she put her hands on her hips, smirking towards me. "Yang doesn't sleep with body pillows, she hates the way they feel on her skin." "Aw come on! How did you know that!?" I said, pouting towards her as I felt my shoulders slump down. Pyrrha chuckled as she set out the rest of my things, placing them on the nearby table. "She stayed with me when she was in Vale until she got her own place, you tend to figure that out pretty quickly… she's _really_ hard to be in the same bed with." she said, lightly rubbing her arm. I didn't doubt that, Yang was violent both awake, _and_ asleep.

I looked away, "You're… not freaked out I have a body pillow of you?" "Ruby, _a lot_ of people have a body pillow of me. Though, I guess you feel lucky huh?" she said. Before I could ask what she meant she walked over, wrapping her arms around me and hoisting me up slightly. I froze for a second before I wrapped my arms back around her, resting my chin on her shoulder as she spoke. "After all, now you've got the genuine article instead of a body pillow to sleep with." she said as I felt my face and her hair suddenly become one to anyone looking at us from behind.

Pyrrha set me down, grabbing the body pillow and holding it up, revealing it to be a few inches shorter than she was. "Hmm… guess I _have_ grown since then. Wonder if those old clothes still… no, if I tried sleeping into them I'd end up naked in the morning." she said, chuckling slightly. Meanwhile, I felt my face burn at the image of a naked Pyrrha sleeping with me. " _Is this the part where I have a nosebleed or where I faint?_ " My question was answered when I felt my legs go numb, the ground rushing to meet me. A wet sense on my face before I embraced the darkness.

" _Faint AND get a nosebleed… little much dontcha think?_ "


	8. We'll break his legs!

Chapter eight: Beatdown at the no-name Cafe

"Well, here we are!"

Velvet said, smiling as she pulled me towards a small cafe. I looked over, giving her a brief smile as I saw what she'd opted to wear today. It was starkly similar to mine, other than hers had no sash around her waist, she wore no hat, and her shoes were gold-netted instead of white-netted. She'd basically drug me out of Oobleck's Clinic through most of downtown until we arrived here. I saw a few people walking around outside, most without faunus parts but, a few with them. The cafe itself was a small brick building near the edge of downtown, about at the meeting point of the city and the slums. There was evidence of both in the men walking by in three piece suits and teenagers walking by in ripped jeans and ratty hoodies. Sometimes I caught the flash of a knife from inside someone's jacket, sometimes it was the flash of a scroll.

Velvet walked towards the building with no hesitation, pulling open the door and nearly dragging me inside with her. The second we walked in, my nose was immediately hit with a plethora of smells. Freshly baked bread, pastries, waffles, pancakes, all sorts of things. Even the scent of meat grilling over an open fire… well, I more _saw_ that one through a window but, it was still there. Velvet pulled me over to a table near the edge, me facing away from the exit. While I sat there, I could block out everything. Everything, that is, except Velvet. Frankly, that was _just_ fine with me. It'd be nice to not have to worry about the world for awhile. Velvet sat down, smiling over at me, "So… what do you think?" "I _think_ this place seems really nice. What did you say it's name was again?" I asked, frankly somewhat confused that the place had no sign on the front or in the window saying it's name. Velvet opened her mouth, then closed it, her face sporting a puzzled expression.

"Hmm… you know, I don't remember. I always just called it 'the place on main'. No one ever really asks." "Huh… odd." I muttered, looking around. Sure enough, there wasn't a sign, billboard, _anything_ that would give a hint to the name of this place. When one of the employees walked over to our table, she didn't even have the name of the place on her name tag. " _Why would a restaurant not want people knowing it's name? Or -even stranger- how could a restaurant not HAVE a name?_ " I thought as the waitress walked over to us. She was about my age, maybe a few inches taller than I was. She was clad in what looked to be the standard uniform of the place: A black shirt (with the name tag over the right breast) and a pair of dark pants. She walked over, smiling down at me with energetic blue hues. She brushed a few strands of orange hair out of her eyes as she spoke. "Hey Velvet! Random girl I've never seen before! What can I get cha?" she asked, her voice loud and cheery… and somewhat obnoxious, admittingly.

Though, Velvet only smiled, "Hey Nora. I'll take my usual. Weiss?" "Uh… can I see a menu or… something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow when I saw that she wasn't carrying any. She pointed behind her, towards what looked to be a large chalkboard. I looked over, squinting slightly to read it. It was so hard to see from here…

" **BOO!** "

"GAH!" I nearly yelled, falling back against the window. I looked up, my heart pounding in my chest as I saw Nora and Velvet laughing, a few people from nearby joining in. I felt my face burn as I pulled down my hat, trying to hide away from the embarrassment. I felt a tapping on my shoulder, but that only got me to pull the hat down further. "Aw Weiss, don't be like that. It was just a joke." I heard Velvet's voice say. I pulled up my hat, seeing a menu now on the table, Nora holding her notepad in hand. I sat back up, looking over the menu as I kept darting my eyes to Nora, making sure she wasn't about to do something again. I handed her the menu, watching her snatching it out of my hands, the same way she did with Velvet. "I'll take a croissant and a coff-." "Comin' up!" Nora said, holding her leg up before, dashing back towards the kitchen, carrying her notepad.

I looked at Velvet, "Okay… what was that?" "Oh, that's just Nora being Nora. She's always all bubbly and weird like that." she said, leaning back in her chair, as if me being scared by a waitress was the most _natural_ thing in the world. I looked around for a moment, seeing other people eating pastries, waffles, pancakes, salads, steaks, all kinds of things really. What kind of restaurant was this? I turned back to Velvet, finding that she was just… looking at me. She wasn't even _saying_ anything, just… looking at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Oh… I'm sorry it's just… you look so _cute_ when your blushing." she said, giving me a warm smile as I felt my blush get even darker. I decided to play it up slightly, gripping at my hat and lowering it down. I heard Velvet holding back a squeal as I looked up, seeing her covering her mouth with both her hands. I let go of the hat, giving her a smile as she did the same.

"Yo! Bunny!"

Velvet raised an eyebrow as she looked behind me, towards someone no doubt coming over. I looked to my right, seeing a tall woman walk over. She sat down next to Velvet, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her over. Velvet slightly protested as the woman wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her over and noogieing her. "Ah! Coco stop it!" "Hehe, why didn't you _tell_ you me were coming today!? Here I thought I'd be eating alone again!" the newly named Coco said, pulling back and giving Velvet a cocky smirk. I looked her over, and she seemed… out of place, to say the least. Most of the people here were wearing jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, none of which were anywhere _near_ as expensive or flashy as what Coco wore. She was wearing a brown beret, designer jeans, a blouse that no doubt cost more than me and Velvet's outfits put together, and high heels that were the same brand as mine at home. She looked like a million lien compared to nickels and dimes for the rest of us.

She finally turned to greet me, pushing down her sunglasses when she noticed me. "Uh… Velvet? Did one of your friend's die recently?" she leaned closer, whispering loud enough I could still hear it. "I think she's haunting you. And _man_ she looks pissed." "Even if I was dead I can still hear you." I said, giving her a slight glare as Velvet giggled, Coco laughing. She held out her hand, one that I quickly took. She nearly jerked me over the table with how strong her grip was… apparently the designer clothes covered up something _much_ more powerful. "Coco Adel's the name, what's yours snow-face?" "Weiss." I said, keeping a blank expression at her joke. Even Velvet didn't laugh at that one. Coco looked around, cracking her neck as she leaned over, wrapping an arm around Velvet as she leaned down, looking over at me. "So, what're you two lovely ladies doing out here?" "Long story." Velvet said simply, giving me a wink when she thought Coco wasn't looking. I gave her a grateful smile… I'd rather not have everyone in Vale know how I broke down and ran to Velvet crying because of a dream.

"Huh? COCO! Where'd you come from!?" Nora asked, setting down mine and Velvet's drinks. Turns out Velvet had gotten coffee too. Coco stood, wrapping her arms around Nora as the two laughed, Coco stepping back and patting her shoulder, "Nora! _Just_ the girl I was looking to see! Figured I'd come get some breakfast when I ran into these two lovely creatures." she said, gesturing back to us. Velvet and I both blushed from the compliment, me pulling my hat down slightly, rousing a giggle from Velvet. I looked up, watching as Nora sat down across from me, putting her elbow on the table. Coco did the same, reaching up and clasping her hand in Nora's as the two sat back, both smirking at each other. A few seconds later they flexed their muscles, both of them straining to move as I felt the table rocking. Me and Velvet picked up our coffee's, not wanting them to get spilled. I leaned over the table, raising an eyebrow, "What're they-?" "It's called arm-wrestling. It's sort of like thumb-wrestling but, with arms." I looked at her blankly for a few seconds. "You… have no clue what thumb wrestling is either, do you?" I shook my head no.

I looked over, watching as Nora slammed Coco's hand into the table at last, standing up and holding out her arms like a bodybuilder. Coco smirked at Nora, shaking out her hand. "Lucky you I haven't eaten yet." "I'll beat you on a full stomach or empty! Doesn't matter!" Nora said, still smirking at her as she stood, about to walk away to -assumingly- do her job. Though, before she did, Coco reached over, audibly slapping her ass. Nora looked around, smirking slightly at her as she reached down, eliciting a gasp from Coco as she grabbed one of the taller woman's large breasts. Then she turned away, walking back towards the kitchen. I looked at Coco, "Uh… what?" "It's how they are, you get used to it." Velvet said, giving me a somewhat tired smile as Coco went back to wrapping her arm around her.

"Hey look, Coco dragged the bunny in again."

I didn't need to look, seeing Velvet looking at her feet, her hands in her lap was enough. This wasn't like Coco calling her bunny, with the friendly nature of teasing. No, this seemed more… malicious. I turned my head, watching as two men walked towards us. One of them was tall, a head of slicked back brownish hair, peaking towards the front. Indigo eyes gazed down at us, arrogant and condescending. The other had a head of slicked back gray hair, stretching almost down to the base of his neck. Bright blue eyes shined down at us in that same manner of arrogance, though seemed _slightly_ less condescending. The two were both clad in what looked to be hole-filled jeans, brown jackets over white t-shirts with red bands on the left forearm. On both of those bands -oddly enough- were two black X's. They walked over, Coco standing up and immediately glaring at the two of them.

"What do you Razzies want?" Coco asked, glaring at the two. I raised an eyebrow, looking between them. What the heck was a 'razzi'? Or… was it 'razzy'? Maybe it didn't matter. Either way, what _were_ they? The brown haired one scoffed, "What else? Take the trash out of our turf." he said, looking down at Velvet. I saw her gulp, a single tear falling onto her lap. I stood, walking between Coco and the taller man. "Alright look here Mr…" "Winchester. Cardin Winchester. Sky Lark is this bastard's name." he said, gesturing behind him. Sky just waved, keeping that small smirk on his face. I glared at him before turning back, keeping my eyes on the taller one. "I'm giving you one chance, and one chance _only_ to leave without anyone getting hurt. You do, nothing happens. Sound fair?" I asked. He looked back at Sky, both of their faces going red for a second before they burst out laughing, Cardin placing a hand on my shoulder. "Alright, you don't seem to know who we are."

"Me and Sky here, we're part of the best group in this city. Razzies. See, we don't tolerate animals in our territory, understand? So, here's what's gonna happen. She's going to leave, _now_. Or, there's gonna be-"

 **SLAM!**

I didn't let him finish, grabbing the side of his head and slamming it into the booth. I stomped on his foot as hard as I could before I grabbed my wrist in one hand, slamming my opposite elbow into his throat. He fell back to the ground, Sky still stunned at the display. I held up my fists, getting into a fighting stance. "Your move creep." "..." Sky turned and ran out the door, jay-walking past a few cars as he scrambled to get away from me. I slowly stood back up, looking down at Cardin, who was slowly coming too, gripping his throat and coughing. I looked up at Velvet, cold blue eyes meeting shocked brown ones. "How bad do you want me to hurt him?" I asked, placing my foot on his chest as I set my hat on the table. Velvet walked over, looking down in confusion. I grabbed his throat, hoisting him up and pinning him to the booth. "Say the word Velvet. I'll let him go. Or, I'll beat the crap out of him. It's up to you." I said.

Velvet shook her head, "Let him go… he's suffered en-." "No, he hasn't." I heard another voice suddenly interrupt. I looked over, seeing Nora walking over, cracking her knuckles the second she saw Cardin. She lightly tapped my shoulder, giving me one of the sweetest smiles I'd ever seen. "If you're done breaking and manhandling that lump of human refuse called Cardin Winchester, would you mind if I had my turn to play?~" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes slightly. I looked over at Velvet, my eyes asking the question my words didn't. She looked between us, hesitating. I could almost _hear_ the thoughts running through her head. He'd hurt her in the past, that was clear. It was clear he'd hurt more people in the future, one way or another. Did he deserve pain now? Hell yes. The question was… was Velvet willing to give it to him?

In the end, I guess her need for vengeance won out. She nodded, and I stepped aside, letting Nora take up the reins. She smirked as Cardin opened his eyes. "Oooooh, shoulda kept 'em shut!" she said, a wicked smirk on her face as she punched both of his eyes, him reaching up to hold his head. Then she tossed him down, walking over and picking up a stool. She looked at Coco, "Should I hit here," she tapped her foot against his left knee, "Here," she tapped against his right knee, "Or HERE!" she said, stomping on his groin, causing Cardin to howl in pain. Coco shrugged, standing up and letting Velvet walk over to me before she laid back, her head facing Nora. "My top says you can't break his leg." "My pants say I can! CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" Nora shouted, heaving the stool over her head.

 **WHACK!**

"AAAAHAHAHA! PLEASE STOP!"

 **WHACK!**

"GOD IT HURTS! PLEASE! PLEASE!"

 **WHACK!**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

 **CRACK!**

Nora smirked, the sickening crack resounding as Cardin fell back, leaning his head over to the side. I didn't doubt he'd lost his voice after all the shouting. Coco sighed, surprising me by reaching down, pulling her shirt over her body, exposing her chocolate brown bra. She tossed it at Nora, Nora leaning over and squeezing Coco's breast again. "I win!" "Yeah yeah, your ass is _mine_ next time!" Coco said, shouting over her shoulder as Nora happily skipped away with her new trophy. I looked down, seeing Velvet holding onto my arm for dear life, her entire body shaking. I slowly sat down, Velvet sitting with me as I felt her ears brush against my forehead. I reached over, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

She leaned in, letting me wrap her in my arms as she looked down, her eyes shocked and awed as I leaned down, whispering faint, comforting words from her. It was about five minutes later that she finally spoke, meeting my eyes. "Never let Nora do that again… _ever_." she said, still shaking. I nodded, going back to comforting her. I slowly started running a hand down her back, wondering if that would help her a bit more. To my surprise, it _seemed_ to, making her shake less and making her breathing slower. I looked up, meeting Coco's eyes over Velvet's back. I looked down, raising an eyebrow at her bra. She met my eyes, raising her own as she asked the question… well, asked what the question was, questioned the questioned… what were we talking about? Oh! Right, the question. "Is this uh… _normal_ , for you?" "Yes." was her only reply, sipping at Velvet's coffee as if she'd stopped existing… then again, given how shaky she was, coffee was _hardly_ the thing she needed right now.

"Me and Nora make bets like this all the time. 'My top says you can't do this', 'my pants say you can't do that', 'my ass says you can't do one thing', 'my tits say you can't do another'. You get the idea." she explained, shifting around and leaning her back against the window, propping her feet up on the edge of the table. I slowly nodded… I wasn't sure I even _wanted_ to know what those last two meant. I looked down at Velvet, then up at Coco. She shook her head, "I can tell what you're thinking, and no. Our little Vel's too pure for me and Nora's kind of fun… one second." she said, standing up… in the booth. She crouch-walked over the table, sitting next to me. I was about to ask what she was doing when she placed her hands on the sides of my face, leaning in and nearly slamming her lips against mine.

I didn't move -not that I really could. I was frozen in shock, my muscles going rigid as I felt my face turn beat red. When she pulled back, her face was exactly the same, that same small smirk on her face. "Uh… what just… why?" I asked, looking over at her as I felt embarrassment give way to confusion. Coco chuckled slightly, reaching down and -if I had to guess- unbuttoning and unzipping her pants. She leaned back, letting out a small sigh as she sipped more of Velvet's coffee. "Your innocent too, just not as pure as Velvet. We could guilty you up just fine, have some fun. More than I can say for Velvet, she ran off and wouldn't talk to me for a week after I did that to her." she said, chuckling. I glared at her as I felt my face turning red for a _very_ different reason.

"So… you kissed her even though she didn't care about you that way?" I asked, glaring slightly. She leaned back, her face slightly paling as she held up her hands, letting a nervous chuckle fly. "Look it was almost four years ago alright? We've made up since then, we're still friends. I did it the same reason I kissed you. Find out if you could make a threesome with me and Nora." she said. Despite the fact she'd said _threesome_ so casually, and I suspected she didn't _mean_ it as in the sexual act, I couldn't help the blush on my face… then again, that blush was already there so, maybe Coco didn't notice. Velvet finally seemed to regain _some_ level of control, slowly sitting up on her own as she looked over at me. "You okay?" I asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. She nodded a few times, giving me a small smile before turning to Coco.

"So… what now?" she asked. I just shrugged, the two of us turning to look over at Coco. Coco seemed to have her own ideas, moving around and -if the flashes of blue were anything to go by- stripping off her pants and laying them aside. "Do you always strip down in a booth?" I asked, watching as she leaned back, pulling her bare knees up to her chest before she rested her hands on them, smiling at me. "Usually I'm not wearing underwear, but yeah, for the most part I do. I come in late at night usually, so me and Nora'll strip naked and have some real early breakfast in the back. You don't know speed until you've seen that girl toss on a shirt and take someone's order after being butt-ass naked three seconds earlier." she said, chuckling at the image it must've brought to her mind.

"Enough about me though," she leaned in, her smirk widening as our eyes met. "How exactly did you take them down snow-face?" she asked. I glared at her, looking down and lightly rubbing behind Velvet's ear. I had a feeling she was calm by now, at the very least calm enough that I didn't have to keep doing this… that being said, I wasn't about stop. "I've taken a few self defense courses." I said. Coco looked at me like I'd said the dumbest thing in the world, lowering her sunglasses and giving me a look that said 'Are you serious? Are you serious right now? Is this real life?'. "A _few_. I've never seen _anybody_ take down someone that fast, and this is coming from the girl who's got three brothers in the police force!" she said, holding up three fingers. I looked away, glaring down at the now unconscious Cardin as Nora came back around, sitting down next to Coco.

"What're we talking about?" Nora asked, looking between me and Coco, laying her head in her hands with the most innocent of smiles, as if she hadn't just broken a man's leg just a few minutes prior. Coco squinted at me, "Nothing Nora… not right now." she said, turning and smiling down at Nora. I knew from her look that this wasn't over… though, right now that wasn't my concern. Right now, my concern was the police officer that had just walked through the door, moving over to Cardin. He looked up, glaring slightly when he saw Velvet. "Pardon me ladies, if I could just have all of you step out of the booth for a moment." he said, motioning us off to the right. We complied, me gently holding Velvet's hand to coax her out of the seat. She complied, the four of us walking away as the officer looked after us, his eyes following Velvet. "Did any of you see what happened?" he asked. No one spoke.

He looked at Velvet, "You speak English right? I asked if any of you saw or heard what happened… ma'am? Ma'am with the rabbit ears, I'm talking to you." he said, waving his hand in front of Velvet's unresponsive face. Velvet looked up, tightening her grip on my hand as she gulped. The officer didn't budge, "Ma'am, do you speak English? I'm just trying to get a picture of what happened here." "Y-Yes." Velvet said, taking a step back as the officer gave her a slight glare. He reached down, lightly patting on his taser for a second before he grabbed a notepad and pen, starting to write something down. "What can you tell me about what happened?" he asked. Velvet didn't respond, her brain no doubt grinding to a halt at the presence of the police officer. He raised an eyebrow at her, slowly reaching for his taser again. "Ma'am, I'm only asking if you saw anything. Yes or no?... we can talk now, or we can speak at the station ma'am, it's your choice." he said, seemingly getting impatient with Velvet's silence.

I stepped between them, "She hasn't done anything wrong." I said, giving the officer a slight glare. He nearly flinched back, standing up a bit straighter as he wrote something down on his pad, nodding a few times. "Okay then miss, did you see what happened?" "Yes." I said. The officer nodded, motioning for me to continue. I took a breath, letting it go as I felt my own nerves at being confronted by an officer fleeing, replacing instead with a strange feeling I didn't recognize. "I did. They threatened her-" "So you thought it was fine to injure a man because he threatened your friend here?" he interrupted, writing it all down as he pointed towards Velvet. Said girl shrunk back, looking away from the officer. Nora walked forward, standing next to me before she smiled at the officer. "Don't give yourself _all_ the credit Weiss, I'm the one who broke his leg." she said.

Coco (who'd somehow managed to pull her pants back on in the thirty seconds I'd looked away) stood, "She defended herself, and the rest of us. There were two razzies, she scared one off after this moron," she lightly kicked Cardin's unbroken leg. "Threatened the four of us if Velvet didn't leave." she said, wrapping an arm around me and Velvet. The officer looked between the four of us, then at Cardin, no doubt for the first time noting the brown jacket, the red band with the X's on it. Then he turned back, raising an eyebrow at me. "You… you're willing to go to prison for her? You didn't just go somewhere else?" he asked, his eyes masked with confusion. Most everyone in the cafe had turned their attention on us, a few of them recording us with their scrolls.

I nodded, placing my wrists together, turning my arms upright, never once taking my eyes off the officer. "If defending my friend is a crime, then take me away." I said. The officer looked down at Velvet, back at Cardin, then finally up at me. He shook his head, ripping out the page in his notepad, crumpling it into a ball before shoving it in his pocket. "I'll let you off with a warning. I'm officially required to tell you not to do this again… unofficially, I don't think it'd hurt to take these Razzies down a peg." he said, smiling and winking at me before he turned away, walking out the door he came through. I looked over at Velvet, finding her looking up at me, her face painted with that shocked expression. "Are you okay?" I asked, giving her the most comforting smile I could manage, taking her hand in mine.

She smiled right back, nodding a few times as I walked over to our booth. I grabbed my cup, downing the rest of my coffee before I turned to Nora. "How much-" "I'll cover for you, just head out before any more cops come." Coco said, standing up and laying twenty lien on the table. I gave her a smile before I turned, taking Velvet's hand before we started walking away. "Hold it!" I stopped in my tracks at the loud, male voice, swiveling around to see a tall, burly man walking towards us. Based on the outfit, he was the cook for this place. He grabbed my hand, making me hold it palm up before he moved his other hand from behind his back, dropping a bag in his hands. "Thanks for gettin' rid of those razzies. Always harrassin' my customers… best be goin' now. Have fun!" he said, giving us a -some teeth missing- smile before he turned away, walking back towards the kitchen. I turned, me and Velvet both walking out the store before I opened the bag, my eyes widening slightly.

Inside there were two muffins and two croissants, one what I'd ordered and one what Velvet did (if I had to guess anyway). I turned back, giving a faint smile towards the building before I looked at Velvet, showing her the bag. Her eyes widened… then she smiled, turning back and looking at the restaurant. "We'll have to come here more often." she said. I nodded, pushing back my hat slightly as we started walking. Where were we going? I didn't know, and frankly, I wasn't sure I really cared. Velvet lead me along, and for a few minutes, I was fine with that. I held the bag in one hand, gripping Velvet's with the other. I leaned against her shoulder, suddenly thankful for the strap beneath my chin keeping the hat on. I looked around, smiling as I noticed Oobleck's clinic in the distance. "Is it okay if we head back upstairs to eat Weiss?" Velvet asked, giving me a slight frown. I just nodded, smiling up at her. She smiled right back, guiding us to the clinic.

When we walked in through the doors, I noticed Oobleck walking out through the door his doctor's office normally was. He smiled at us when he noticed me and Velvet holding hands. "Have an eventful day you two?" he asked, his eyes -if we could see them- no doubt sparkling in mirth. I looked up at Velvet, brown eyes meeting blue as we both giggled. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing:

" _You have NO idea._ "

( **a/n- {Recurring plot device detected} {Rhetorical analysis begin}: It appears as if whenever one or more tears drop from Velvet's face, Weiss becomes enraged, which has thus far shown a 66% likelihood of ending in something drastic (50% chance of violence based on chapter eight statistics). {Rhetorical analysis end} {Plot device situation resolved} {Ending author's note}** )

( **a/n- Also fun fact, Razz is actually short for 'Razzista', which means racist in Italian… appropriate huh?)**


	9. Tag Team Tournament Twin (Other T words)

Chapter nine: Ruby's Reason and the Triple T

"Mmm… don't go…"

I slowly opened my eyes, groaning as I felt the dull throbbing in the back of my head. I slowly sat up, my eyes adjusting to the light as I started looking around. I saw Pyrrha's bedroom once again, with myself lying just beneath the large comforter and sheet. I looked over, searching for the source of the voice. "Pyrrha?" I asked aloud, looking down at the other side of the bed. Sure enough, I saw the red-headed woman laying next to me, clad in what looked to be a red nightgown. Her hair framed her face, her hands in front of her, as if grasping at something. She was just a few inches away from me, her legs just peeking out at the other side.

"I'm sorry… don't go…" I heard her mummering in her sleep, her eyes still dashing beneath their lids, her hands trembling, lips quivering, face twisting and turning in sadness. " _Oh… she's just having a nightmare…_ " I thought, frowning as I saw her legs curling up slightly, her hands grabbing at the sheets beneath her. I heard the faint whimpering and -due to the way I normally saw her- it took me a minute to realize the noise was even coming _from_ Pyrrha. I reached over, lightly running my hand down her shoulder. "Shh… it's okay Pyrrha, it's okay…" I whispered, leaning over and trying to soothe the woman's pain.

It didn't seem to work, her body shaking more as I pulled back, the whimpering getting worse as her knuckles turned white, stress fractures in the sheets of the bed just beneath her. I reached over, laying my hands over hers, only for those hands to release the bed, a yelp escaping me as they gripped my wrists like rust to iron. I slowly laid down as I saw Pyrrha's whimpering slow, her eyes slowly opening. I saw brilliant green eyes in a way I'd never once seen them -illuminated by tears, sadness and fears abound within. She looked so scared, so lost, so helpless…

I barely even thought as I pried my hands from her grip, wrapping her in a hug. She only seemed to process it for a moment before she jumped up, wrapping her arms around me and -if the wet sense on my back was anything to go by- silently bawling her eyes out. I didn't move, only sitting there, patting her back and whispering meaningless words to her. I heard her sniffles, the wet sense stopping as she pulled back, but refused to let go. She looked down, "I'm… I'm sorry Ruby. I… it's… thank you." she said. I could tell she wanted to say more, but trying would send her back into that spiraling sadness she'd just come out of. I smiled at her, leaning over and hugging her once again.

She returned it before we both slid out of bed, her walking a bit faster than normal to catch up, passing through the door with me at her side. She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, leaning her head onto mine. I wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling as I guided us to Pyrrha's couch, pulling her down with me with little resistance from the stronger woman. "Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked, my eyes flicking up to see only her neck. She pulled back, green eyes meeting silver before she shook her head, turning me to entrap me in a hug once again. I didn't resist, pulling my legs around and wrapping them around her waist, sitting on her lap as she leaned back on the couch. I tried to move and sit next to her, but the stronger grip for a moment stopped me. So I sat there, head over her shoulder, sitting in her lap, just enjoying her warmth… and for awhile, I was content to sit there in silence.

Of course, I couldn't stay quiet forever.

"Isn't it usually the big, strong one that comforts the tiny, helpless girl?" I asked, pulling back and smiling at her. She smiled right back, letting out a giggle before she leaned back, her arms falling to her sides. "I'd hardly call a girl like you _helpless_." she said. We shared a laugh, our arms at our sides… then I remembered where I was sitting. I moved back, sitting down next to her and giving a brief smile at the ex-boxer. She returned it before looking ahead, her face slowly shifting to a frown, eyes clouded in the dusts of memory. "Are you okay Pyrrha?" I asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes turned to me, flashing in recognition of something before she looked away, nodding.

"How do you do it Ruby… how are you you?" she asked, refusing to turn and look at me. I raised an eyebrow… what kind of question was that? More importantly, how the heck was I supposed to _answer_!? When I didn't answer, Pyrrha kept going. "How are you the way that you are… power and innocence, purity and strength… how? How are you like this?" she asked, finally turning back to look at me. I saw the tears swimming in her eyes, and I knew that if I answered the wrong way, or… maybe the _right_ way, depending on how you took it, she'd burst into tears again.

I wracked my brain for a few moments, trying to think of something, _anything_ that would make Pyrrha feel better… "I… I guess it's the way I have to be. It's the only way I really know how to deal with people so, I can't complain all that much. I mean, _someone_ had to be the happy, bright ray of sunshine in our family without mom. Yang was too angry all the time, Dad was too down to earth… then there was the little, shy girl who'd never had a real friend in the few years she'd been alive… so, I tried to break out of my shell. I acted normal but, I tried to not care what anyone thought about me, be more outgoing like mom was… I uh, I wasn't very good at it." I said, looking away from Pyrrha, lightly tapping my fingers against each other.

Her eyes didn't shine with sadness now, but rather confusion, looking down over me for a moment. "You… seem pretty good at it to me." she said. I just gave her a brief smile, letting out a chuckle as I slowly turned away, my eyes slowly glossing over with unspent tears. Pyrrha seemed to sense this, her eyes flashing in sympathy. "I mean, I've had a lot of practice. Acting all nice and innocent in front of everyone, pretending to be oblivious to the people making fun of me before running back into Yang's arms and crying myself to sleep… I mean, when she left for Vale I, only stayed because she _asked_ … Otherwise I'd, be right there with her, watching Adam… beat her unconscious…" I said, feeling a few drops of liquid against my thighs. I felt Pyrrha wrap her arms around me, her eyes shrouded with sympathy.

"So that's why you wanted to fight Adam so much… why you were willing to risk your life. Yang means everything to you, doesn't she?" Pyrrha asked. I only nodded, tears still flowing as she hugged me tighter. I turned, burying my head in her shoulder for a minute as I felt the memories flooding back. Memories of me and Yang… memories of my bout with Adam. "That was one reason… I mean, I hadn't really planned on _leaving_ the ring once we both got in anyway so, what was a little risk?" I asked, laughing as I looked up at Pyrrha, her face suddenly mortified. Her brain seemed to short circuit as she froze, just looking at my sobbing -yet laughing- face as I felt those laughs slowly turn into wails, causing me to bury my head in her shoulder. When she finally seemed to regain control of her body, her first action as wrap her arms around me, comforting me the same way I'd comforted her just a few minutes ago.

When my tears had finally run their course, voice hoarse from the sobbing, I felt Pyrrha pull back, her hands cupping my face as she wiped at the few remaining tears with her thumbs. "So… you wanted Adam to…" she trailed off, as if unable to finish the horrible sentence. I nodded pointlessly. We both knew it was true… at least, I thought we did. Though, Pyrrha seemed to take it much worse than I expected, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into her embrace, refusing to let go. "Ruby… don't go. Not like that… please." she said, still unwilling to say what we both knew was true. I wrapped my arms around her, smiling as I lightly pat her back. "Now that I have a chance at winning… next time _he'll_ be the one on the ground." I said, smirking right back at her.

She smiled for a moment, letting out a sigh of relief as she laid her hands on my shoulders, leaning against my head. "Promise me something Ruby." she said. I leaned back, raising an eyebrow towards her. She smiled, a few last tears leaving her eyes as she spoke. "Promise you won't… do that… for me." she said, keeping that smile on her face. I just smiled, nodding back at her as I felt a few last tears drip from my own eyes. She gave me one last hug before she stood, walking towards the bathroom. I didn't follow, simply curling up on the couch and watching as she shut the door, waiting for Pyrrha to come out so I could get ready for the day too.

…

"Salutations Ruby!"

I heard the familiar voice say as I walked into the level 1 training area. She waved at me with one hand, the other casually holding what looked to be a fifty-pound dumbbell, something that a few of the other guys nearby were struggling to get off the ground. I smiled at her, walking over to see her casually toss the dumbbell behind her, it landing with a clang to the floor as she wrapped her arms around me. "Hey… Penny… I can't… can't breathe…" I said, feeling my face slowly turning blue as my lungs burned from the strain. Penny let out a little gasp as she set me down, her face tinged pink and hands up, as if she were afraid to touch me again. "Sorry Ruby… usually when I wrap my arms around someone I'm trying to squeeze the air out of them until they pass out. It's a bit strange to hold back." she said.

I slowly nodded, making a mental note to never let Penny hold a baby… _ever_. "It's fine… so, what now?" I asked. Penny looked like she was about to answer before it seemed to die on her lips, her slowly reaching out, grabbing my hand with a gentleness I wasn't even aware she possessed and pulled me back, guiding me away from the door as I felt the air behind me. I turned, that familiar anger flaring up as I saw none other than Adam Taurus walking through. Though, he wasn't alone this time. Accompanying him was a white haired woman a few inches shorter than him, and Roman himself. Everyone slowly stopped what they were doing as the three walked towards the center of the room, Adam to the left and the white haired woman to the right of Torchwick.

He cleared his throat, "Listen up level one's! It's that time of the year again!" he said, a few people clapping and whistling at that, others smirking towards who I guessed to be their sparring partners. I looked at Penny, raising an eyebrow, only for her to hold up a finger, shushing me. "That time, of course, is for the Level 1 Twin's Team Tournament! For those of you who weren't around for the last tournament-" I could've _sworn_ he was looking at me as he said that, "-the rules are simple. You and another person from the Level 1 group will be fighting, tournament style, against all other level 1 teams that wish to participate! The winners of the tournament, face one final test: The Malachite twins!" he said, gesturing to the door.

At that I saw the twins from the other day dash through the door, Miltia sliding down as Melanie leapt over her, twirling through the air before landing next to the white-haired girl. It was either for show or intimidation… but it worked _really_ well for both. "If a level one team is able to defeat the twins, they will _instantly_ be granted status as a level two!" Roman said, again a few whistles and claps coming from the audience of level ones. Roman held up his hands, everyone silent after a moment. The white haired girl spoke up next, her voice airy and light, with a strange sense of danger and elegance to it. "The deadline to sign-up is two weeks from today. The deadline to drop out is on the final day of the second week." she said simply, her voice slicing the air like a blade.

Adam spoke next, "So, if any of you are up to the challenge, take your shot." he said, throwing around that arrogant smile, his mask facing me for a moment before the two fighters (I guessed that's what the white-haired girl was) left, followed by the twins. Then, at last, Roman. A few people walked out after them, groups of them mostly. I turned to see Penny still gripping my wrist, almost as if trying to hold me back. "So… are we entering?" I asked, giving her a faint smile. She looked around for a moment, frowning towards me… I could tell there was something about this she wasn't sure of. "I… I don't know Ruby. I've never fought _with_ someone before… I've seen the twins fighting, it's like they're two halves of the same _person_. I don't know… maybe we should, get some practice in first?" she said.

I slowly nodded, looking around at the groups that had just walked out, my eyes zoning in on the head of pink hair. "Nadir!" I said, waving towards him, pulling Penny with me. He turned, giving a brief smile and wave towards me as I walked over. He reached over, grabbing the shoulder of someone else nearby and jerking them back towards him, as if afraid they were about to leave. "Ruby! I was _just_ lookin' for you! I'd like you to meet my partner, Bowling." he said. The other man glared at him, pulling on Nadir's ear for a second, said pink haired man waving his arms slightly, " _Bolin_. My name is _Bolin, Hori_. Sorry about him." he said, his voice surprisingly calm for someone seemingly so insulted.

I nodded, suppressing the giggle as I held out my hand. He looked down for a few seconds before shaking it, nearly throwing my hand down as he swiped the black hair from his eyes. Said eyes were a bright amber, flicking over to Penny before returning to me. "Ooookay… aaaare you two competing in the tournament?" I asked. It seemed… well, if the tournament was based on _teamwork_ … these two didn't seem to see eye-to-eye, and _not_ just from how Bolin was a few inches taller than Nadir. The two didn't even dress _remotely_ similar, with Bolin switching out standard boxing shorts for long, yellow pants with gold lining on the waist. His feet were bare -though most everyone's were in here so, no blame for that one- as was his torso.

I looked over, seeing Penny keeping her eyes on the ground, her face tinged lightly pink. I looked at Bolin, then Penny. Bolin. Penny. Bolin. Penny… " _Is there… am I really bad at reading people or -no who am I kidding I AM really bad at reading people… still, there COULD be something… nah, she's probably just not used to people, like I was._ " I thought, remembering many times when this exact situation happened to me. Except Yang was me, Penny was… me and… wait hold on, _I_ am Yang, and Penny is… WOW that's confusing. Okay I got it! Penny is the YOUNG me, and the NOT-SO-YOUNG-BUT-STILL-KIND-OF-YOUNG-SINCE-I'M-FIFTEEN me is Yang. Bolin is… well, literally any one of Yang's friends, and Nadir is… I dunno, another friend? Man this analogy is confusing… wait, didn't I need something from them? What was it…

"You _know_ we are! We're making it to the top!" Nadir said, reminding me of exactly _why_ I'd gone up and talked to them in the first place. I slowly nodded, slightly nudging Penny's shoulder her head coming up like a spooked animal. "In that case… how about a sparring match? Me and penny vs. you and Bolin?" I asked, giving a slight smile towards the two. Nadir suddenly looked over, a few bullets of sweat forming as he let out a nervous chuckle, looking over to his partner. "Well uh, I don't really know if that's such a good idea when uh… you all just became partners! I mean, shouldn't you work on your synergy before you start pickin' fights?" he asked, seemingly regaining a little confidence.

"Weeell doesn't the best experience come from… well, _actual_ experience?" I asked. Nadir deflated slightly, letting out another chuckle before he turned, looking at Bolin. He urged him on with his eyes, as if begging him for help. "Uh… well, you see we-" "Let's go. Right now." Bolin interrupted his partner, grabbing his shoulder as if to steady Nadir. I nodded, grabbing Penny's hand and guiding the embarrassed girl towards the ring. She leaned over, "Are you… _sure_ , this is a good idea Ruby? They've been partners for six _months_! We just became partners _yesterday_!" she said, her eyes nervous. I just nodded, giving a bright smile towards her.

"We'll be fine. Besides, it's just a sparring match. Not like it's life or death right?" I said, causing the girl to let out a nervous chuckle, her eyes flicking back towards Bolin and Nadir. Nadir -speaking of- seemed to be deeply trouble at the prospect of fighting Penny and 'Ruby Roundhouse' as he'd nicknamed me. Bolin -however- kept a straight face, eyes never leaving the ring as he hopped over, pulling his body back into a combat stance unlike any I'd seen in boxing. It looked more like those mixed-martial arts fights I'd seen when our family took a vacation to Mistral. Nadir -on the other hand- took up a standard boxing pose. I got into my own pose, Penny simply standing, slowly pacing around, as if sizing up her prey.

"Wait… we need someone to count us down… YO! JOHN! WE NEED A START!" Nadir yelled. A man walked towards us (was this the same john with the pretzels yesterday?), clad in fairly generic attire with a fairly generic look… he looked like one of those people you wouldn't recognize if you saw twice. He held up a hand, "Three! Fou! One… Two… FIGHT!" he said, leaving me, Penny, and Bolin all staring at him. Nadir, on the other hand, took advantage, tapping Bolin's shoulder and circling to the side. The three of us snapped out of it as me and Penny both backed away, her watching Bolin as I watched Nadir.

Not ten seconds later Nadir rushed. I was quick to dodge, spinning around as Penny did the same, me facing Bolin now as me and Penny stood, back to back. Bolin and Nadir moved together, moving back towards the center as Nadir stepped ahead, smiling towards us as me and Penny turned to face him. He dashed forward, me and Penny struck out with our fists, only for him to slide beneath us, slamming his arms into our legs. Thanks to my balance training with Pyrrha I still stood, but Penny fell to the ground almost instantly. I saw Bolin dash over, slamming his elbow onto her exposed back as he seemed to slip, taking all the force of his fall with her. Seeing my chance, I dashed forward, about to kick Bolin when I felt a punch land across my face.

I staggered back, rubbing my jaw as I saw Nadir jumping back, stepping foot to foot as John started counting, "One! Six! Three!" of course it… didn't make much _sense_ but, I knew I didn't have much time. I dashed towards Nadir, pretending to fall next to him only to swing my foot around, slamming it into his stomach. He fell as I dashed over him, slamming his hands to the ground. This had the desired effect, Bolin leaving Penny to help his partner. As I jumped back, Penny stood, shaking herself slightly as she truly lived up to her moves name, striking like a python while Bolin's back was turned. I saw her swing him down, about to put him in a python squeeze when Nadir intervened, practically prying her off of him before Penny jumped back to me.

"Two weak fighters working together outclass two strong ones working alone." Bolin said, giving a small smile as he and Nadir started slowly walking towards us. I pulled back, looking over at Penny for a second before she walked closer. "I told you! What do we do!?" she asked. No doubt she'd never fought like this before (granted neither had I so, no real room for _me_ to talk their either) considering she'd never had a partner before me. I looked over, slowly stepping back, whispering in Penny's ear. "I'm going to fake-out Bolin, you put him in the Python squeeze. I'll deal with Nadir." I said. Penny nodded, her eyes focusing on Nadir as mine did the same. Better to deceive them I guess.

Three steps closer and I dashed towards Bolin, eyes narrowing in as I reared back my fist, only to slam my foot into the ground, swinging over his head an slamming my foot down on the back of Nadir's neck, knocking him to the ground. In the meantime, Penny dashed behind the distracted Bolin, trapping him in her python squeeze. At that point I pinned Nadir, watching as Bolin fell, both of them pinned to the ground. John started counted in his completely out of order, weird numerical system. Eventually he just shouted 'TKO!' and I called it at that, stepping back and smiling at Penny. Bolin and Nadir (I hadn't _actually_ knocked him out but, he wasn't getting back up after that kick for a few minutes) both standing up, walking back towards each other.

Nadir smiled, "You two got a _lot_ to learn about team-fighting if you wanna beat the Malachites." he said, Bolin smirking slightly at us. Penny looked away from the two, letting out a little hiccup as I just nodded, looking towards Nadir. The pink haired man reached over, pulling Bolin back and whispering something to him. Whatever it was, Bolin must've _despised_ the idea, since his face just grew more and more angry as he heard it. "They're our competition Nadir." he said, glaring at his seemingly less competent partner. Nadir sighed, slowly shaking his head, a hand on his forehead. "If we go against them we _already_ lose. 'Sides, we'll get knocked out before we even get close to them anyway. Let's at least give 'em a fightin' chance!" he said. I could… hazard, a guess, as to what they were talking about but, it was hard to say for certain.

Bolin looked at his partner for a few seconds before he leaned in, speaking a few words before pointing at me. Whatever he said must've been embarrassing, since Nadir's cheeks suddenly looked like his hair: Bright pink. He glared at his partner for a few seconds, gesturing to Penny and whispering. Whatever Nadir had hoped for -maybe to embarrass his partner- failed miserably. Bolin just stayed the same, looking at Penny for a second before turning back. "Fine, I give. If this comes back to bite us later, _you're_ gonna hear about it." he said, thumping Nadir's chest with two fingers. Nadir just nodded, his blush dying down as he turned to me and Penny, walking the boxing-ring length distance to us.

"If anyone's got a chance at beating the Malachites, it's you two. So… we want to make a deal." he said, still smiling at Bolin walked over, expressionless as usual. Penny walked back over to me, hands cupped over her crotch as her eyes flickered between both men and the ground, her cheeks still tinged pink. "What kind of 'deal' are we talking about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the pink-haired man. Bolin looked over, giving a slight smirk at his shorter partner as the pink haired man gave him a glare in return. Surprisingly it was _Bolin_ that spoke first, "Me and Nadir are going to teach you two how to fight together. In exchange, you teach each of us how to fight better on our own." he said simply.

I looked at Penny, lightly grabbing her shoulder, "What do you think Penny?" I asked. Personally, _I_ thought it sounded like a good idea. I mean me and Penny knew _nothing_ about fighting together except what little we'd improvised at the last second… that being said, these two were _also_ our competition, meaning if we trained them to be better alone, we might have to fight them when they're together later on, _and_ they'd be stronger together as a result. Penny looked between the two before she nodded, giving a questioning glance towards me. "Alright, we're in!" I said, giving a bright smile as I wrapped an arm around Penny's shoulders, pulling the girl closer.

Bolin nodded, giving a faint smile towards us as Nadir did the same… except his smile was _far_ from faint and he was _far_ , _far_ more vocal. "Nice! You two are gonna go all the way… wait that sounds wrong, uh… you two are gonna become one -oh crap that's even _worse_ , uh…" Nadir looked away, his face flushed as he seemed to try and think of some other analogy. Bolin held out a hand, "Your grave's only six feet, and you've dug four, stop before you dig the rest." he said, keeping that impassive look on his face as Nadir looked away, running a hand back through his hair. After a moment he turned to us, "Well, anyway, we better get started. First thing's first, you gotta _know_ your partner before you can hope to work together." he said.

I raised an eyebrow, but Bolin interrupted before I could say anything. "What he means is you two need to understand each other… doesn't mean you have to _like_ understanding each other but, you need to know your ally before you can face your enemies." he said, giving Nadir a slight glare. Nadir gave a small smile in returned before he faced me again, running a hand back through his hair… was that a nervous tick of his or, was I missing something? "In our fight, me and Bolin didn't have to talk to fight together, but you had to whisper in her ear. You need to get to the point you can _look_ at Penny and tell what she wants, and vice versa of course." he said, gesturing from me to Penny then Penny to me respectively.

I slowly nodded… I guess that made sense. If I knew what she was going to do I knew how to predict it and react accordingly. Bolin held up a hand, "For example-" he dove towards Nadir, who reached over, casually spinning him around and setting him back upright. I looked between the two, wide-eyed… "You… huh? How?" I asked… I mean, they hadn't spoken a _word_ during that and they executed something that would no doubt take Penny and me almost a hundred tries to get right! Nadir smiled, "Exactly. You know your partner, you know what they're like, how they fight, you know _exactly_ what they're gonna do before they even do it. Since you two ain't much the type for planning every little detail of a fight, you gotta think on your feet and improvise if you wanna beat Melanie and Miltia." he said.

"Ruby, what's Penny's favorite color?" Nadir asked. I looked at Penny, trying to think for a moment, think if she'd told me… of course, I didn't really know the answer. I mean we'd met _yesterday_ for crying out loud! "Uwaaaaaaah… Orange?" I asked, giving a wild guess. Penny shook her head, the reasons Nadir was proposing slowly donning on her if her eyes were anything to go by. "See? We'll get to the fighting later, but you two need to get to know each other first." Nadir said simply, leaning back slightly as Bolin did the same. The two of them casually stepped out of the arena, walking over towards the gym side, leaving me and Penny alone in the ring. I looked over at her, "Maybe we should go somewhere a bit more quiet." I said, considering the sheer amount of noise that was seemingly always in this room.

Penny nodded, lightly grabbing my wrist and pulling me off the ring, right out the nearby door and down the hall. I was about to ask where she was going when she stopped at a door just down from the infirmary. She pulled it open, revealing what looked to be a simple, barely decorated bedroom, with a simple closet, bed, and a few other things scattered about the place. She pulled me in, turning on the singular lightbulb in the center of the room before shutting the door behind me, walking towards the middle of the room. She sat down, patting in front of her. I complied, crossing my legs like she was before she spoke up, "Ruby… um, tell me about you. I guess." she said, her face pink… I could tell she'd never really had to do something like this before.

Luckily, _I_ had plenty of experience introducing myself… since I had to do it so, _so_ many times to the same people. "Well, I'm fifteen with a birthday in two weeks. My uh, my favorite color is red. I uh, _oh_! I've been training with Pyrrha since I got here, my uncle lives in Vale while the rest of my family's in Patch. Uhhhh… I like strawberries, cookies, and cute things, like little puppies with those, those tiny little hats and jackets." I said, lightly tapping my fingers together as I pictured it… _wow_ this was harder than I remember. Penny slowly nodded, looking up as if racking her brain for something to say. "Well, I just turned sixteen last week, my um, my favorite color is green. I'm… I'm really bad at this, sorry." she said, looking away from me.

I frowned, reaching a hand out and laying it on her shoulder. She turned back, her face flushed pink with embarrassment as I smiled, "It's okay… I'm not really good at this either. Why don't we start from the beginning. Like uh… what was your childhood like? Friends? Family? Things like that." I said. Penny looked down, her eyes shifting over the floor for a few moments before she nodding, giving a faint smile before she started talking, her eyes taking on this strange, nostalgic quality to them. "Well… I was born in Mantle. My, mother left me and dad when I was little so, it's just been us for as long as I can remember. He was… a little overprotective. We went to Atlas on a trip and this one guy pushed me out of the way on the sidewalk… my dad, well, he threatened to kill them with a scalpel."

"When I was eight I… I got really sick. I… I couldn't even move. My dad he, he tried everything he could find but, nothing would make me better. Then… well, " she reached down, slowly pulling down on her right shoe. My eyes widened when I saw that the 'shoe' she was pulling of, was actually her entire _foot_. She set it aside, lightly running a finger over the place her ankle would've been, a faint smile on her face. "My dad had to amputate my right foot up to my ankle and my left up to my knee to save me… even then he, he always had a priest on speed-dial. He'd spend hours and hours next to me, just hoping, praying for me to get better… it was a miracle I did. I'd lost twenty pounds since I couldn't eat anything. My skin was paler than ever and… well, I could barely walk for awhile." she said.

"What kind of disease _was_ it?" I asked, my eyes wide as I looked over her other leg. I couldn't tell if she was joking about the 'up to her knee' part… I mean, her leg looked almost _seamless_ , as if it were real. She seemed to sense this, reaching over and -sure enough- pulling her other leg off as well. "I don't really remember the name… guess I never wanted to find out after it was over. It was some kind of infection from stepping barefoot in all the filth in Mantle… the frostbite didn't help it any. My dad made his money by making prosthetics for people who had to have their limbs amputated because of it… it was, _really_ common back then."

"A few years later… that's when the Mad Doctor showed up."


End file.
